TABUK — Emir of Tabuk Region Prince Fahd Bin Sultan has received Dr. Khulood Mohammed Al-Khamis, the recently appointed secretary-general of the regional council, in his office on Monday. Dr. Khulood, the first woman to hold the role across the region, thanked Tabuk Emir Prince Fahd Bin Sultan for the confidence reposed in her by the Saudi leadership. “The emir congratulated Dr. Khulood on this confidence as the first woman to hold the position of secretary general of the regional council at the level of the Kingdom, wishing her continued success in her new work,” read a statement of their meeting published on the Saudi Press Agency. “I’m happy to be the first Saudi woman to hold this position and to be a daughter of Tabuk, and this is not surprising from the leader on the matter, and from Prince Fahd Bin Sultan, emir of Tabuk region, and the keenness to empower Saudi women to assume leadership positions in the Kingdom,” Dr. Khulood was quoted by Okaz as saying. Dr. Khulood holds a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Howard University in the United States. She worked as a teaching assistant, a lecturer, then an associate professor at the Faculty of Science at the University of Tabuk. She also presented many research papers during her career and participated in many specialized activities in the fields of science.