JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman left abroad for a private vacation on Saturday and has assigned Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif to take charge of state affairs in his absence, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said, quoting a royal order.

In a royal order, the king deputized crown prince, who is also the deputy premier and interior minister, “to administer the affairs of the state and take care of the interests of the people” while he is out of the kingdom.

King Salman was seen off at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Saturday afternoon by Crown Prince Mohammed; Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense; Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, adviser to the king and governor of Makkah region; Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, governor of Riyadh region; Prince Mishaal bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, governor of Jeddah, and other senior officials.

The king was accompanied in his trip by Prince Khalid bin Fahd bin Khalid, Prince Mansour bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Prince Hossam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prince Naif bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Rakan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

Also accompanying the king were Finance Minister Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Minister of Culture and Information Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi, and a number of civilian and military officials.