Abu Dhabi (AFP)
The new Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdel Aziz bin Salman, detonated by his self-deprecation this week on the occasion of his first public appearance since his appointment at a meeting of oil producing countries in Abu Dhabi.
Named Sunday at his post by his father King Salman, the prince insisted on Thursday the continuity of Saudi policy to reduce oil production to support falling prices in a moribund market.
But his spontaneous and laughing temperament decided with the seriousness that characterized his predecessor Khaled al-Falih, a seasoned official.
"This is my first press conference and I can not stop repeating that I have spent my entire career as a shadowy man," Prince Abdel Aziz, 50, told the media with a smile.
The first member of the royal family to hold this position, this half-brother of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is considered an experienced official, having worked for more than three decades in the oil field.
"Be merciful to me," he said, before reciting a Qur'anic verse at a conference in Abu Dhabi where members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other big producers, like Russia.
"Allow me to be what I am, deeply spontaneous and transparent," added the prince minister before quoting a piece of advice given by a friend: "you do not have to lie (to the media) but you do not have not to tell the whole truth. "
On Monday, the new minister had already made a name for himself by joking about the oil market's negative predictions, saying he would be "probably under Prozac" if he worried about it, referring to the famous anti-depressant drug brand.
© 2019 AFP