Riyadh, 22 Rabi'II 1436 H, February 11, 2015, SPA -- Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, Chief of the Royal Court, and Special Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and also Chairman of the Economic and Development Council, chaired at the Royal Court today the first session of the Economic and Development Council. At the outset of the meeting, Prince Mohammed bin Salman thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for his decree initiating the Economic and Development Council which assures the continuity of the developmental process of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia adopted by the Kingdom's leadership and undertaking its part in orchestrating all the economic and developmental issues according to the public interest of the nation and nationals as well as the keenness of the monarch to upgrade the performance of work and level of coordination to evade dualism and achieve the projected aims leading to the integration of roles, responsibilities and areas of profession to keep pace with the accelerating changes and developments in various fields. The council discussed a number of subjects regarding economic and developmental issues as well as the mechanisms of the council. The council also discussed ways of promoting the services being provided to citizens. --SPA 21:11 LOCAL TIME 18:11 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w