BEIRUT: Lebanese officials welcomed Friday the appointment of Saudi Prince Nayef Abdel-Aziz al-Saud as the new crown prince of the Arab kingdom.

“We congratulate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people for pledging allegiance to Prince Nayef as crown prince, asking God Almighty to preserve … King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz and provide him with well-being and good health so that he pursues the path of construction, prosperity and reform, and leads the kingdom toward more stability, prosperity and progress,” former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement Friday.

Nayef’s appointment came days after the passing of the former crown prince, Prince Sultan Abdel-Aziz al-Saud, who died Saturday.

Nayef, 78, was also named vice prime minister and will keep his job as interior minister. In a letter to Nayef, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Rashi Qabbani congratulated King Abdullah on the appointment of Nayef as the new crown prince and wished Nayef success in his duties in the service of the Saudi people and Muslims and Islam, reported the National News Agency.