Saudi King Salman chairs cabinet meeting, state news agency says

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, state media said, for the first time since a royal decree issued by him on Aug. 8 allowing the cabinet to convene in the absence of the king, crown prince or both.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman chaired the Aug. 13 cabinet session.

The 88-year-old king of the world's biggest oil exporter, a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, received medical care for lung inflammation in May. Prince Mohammed later postponed an official visit to Japan due to the king's health.

The Aug. 8 decree allowed the cabinet to convene without the king or the crown prince or his deputies. It said that in their absence it would be chaired by the eldest member of the cabinet who is a descendant of Salman's father King Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the Saudi state.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam; writing by Tala Ramadan; editing by Mark Heinrich)