RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has appointed Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak as governor of Saudi Central Bank (SCB), replacing Dr. Ahmed Al-Kholifey. In a series of royal decrees issued on Sunday, the King also ordered the merger of the Ministry of Housing with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and appointed Majed Al-Hoqail as the minister of the new portfolio, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak was relieved of his position of minister of state and member of the Cabinet and appointed head of SBC as successor of Dr. Al-Kholifey. The King appointed Dr. Al-Kholifey advisor at the Royal Court in the rank of a minister. The King’s orders also included promoting Director General of Passports (Jawazat) Sulaiman Al-Yahya from major general to lieutenant general. As per the royal decree, the new ministry will be known as Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. It was stipulated in the royal decree that the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers shall undertake all the necessary procedures related to the merger of the ministries within a period not exceeding three months. The Bureau will complete the necessary legal procedures to transfer and define the functions, equipment, employees, jobs, properties, items, and appropriations. It will also review the laws, regulations, orders, royal decrees, and decisions, apart from proposing what is necessary in this regard, to complete the necessary legal procedures.