Appointment of First Saudi Female Ambassador to the US is a Further Attempt to Distract from Rights Abuses
On 23 February 2019, Saudi Arabia appointed its first ever female ambassador, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud. She will serve as the ambassador to the United States (US). She is a member of the royal family, and has been widely known for her advocacy work around women’s rights in the kingdom. She succeeds Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the previous ambassador, who is also the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Khalid bin Salman had been withdrawn to Riyadh as ambassador shortly after the disappearance of the Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in October 2018. Since Khalid bin Salman returned to Riyadh and before Reema bint Bandar assumed her role, Saudi Arabia did not have an ambassador in Washington. Her appointment appears to indicate that Saudi Arabia hopes to return to “business as usual” with the United States and that it no longer needs to be on the defensive about Khashoggi’s disappearance and murder.
Read the full statement here.
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