King Salman: A timeline of his second year in office

• Jan. 18: King Salman meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discusses key bilateral and regional issues including Iran.

• Jan. 20: King Salman receives Chinese President Xi Jinping and confers on him King Abdulaziz Medal in Riyadh. During the Chinese president’s visit, the two countries sign 14 energy and industrial pacts.

• Feb. 1:  King Salman receives Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Riyadh and they review bilateral relations, regional issues and international issues.

• Feb. 14: King Salman is presented with International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Sustainable Development Award by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

• March 9: King Salman arrives  in Hafr Al-Batin to attend the final maneuvers of the “Operation North Thunder” aimed at ensuring combat-readiness of the Kingdom and its allies. The drill involves 2,500 warplanes, 20,000 tanks and 350,000 troops.

• March 10: King Salman meets leaders of the countries joining the Islamic alliance.

• March 28: King Salman and South African President Jacob Zuma stress the importance of continued cooperation on international and regional issues, notably the UN reforms and the fight against terrorism and extremism.

• April 3: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with King Salman; the Kingdom and India signs five agreements in Riyadh.

• April 7: King Salman arrives in Egypt during which the two countries sign an investment fund pact and announce a $3 billion causeway project.

• April 20: King Salman holds talks with US President Barack Obama in Riyadh. The two leaders discuss key bilateral and regional issues including terrorism, Iran, Yemen and Syria.

• April 25: Saudi Cabinet chaired by King Salman approves the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to reduce dependence on oil and ensure sustainable development.

• April 28: King Salman receives Jordanian King Abdallah and the two countries sign an agreement to establish a Saudi-Jordanian Coordination Council.

• May 2: The Saudi government announces plans under which 75 percent of Saudi citizens will own houses within five years.

• Aug. 15: King Salman announces a one-month salary bonus for all Saudi soldiers fighting in the Operation Decisive Storm and Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen.

• Oct. 26: King Salman and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev hold talks and witness the signing of 16 mutual agreements in different areas.

• Oct. 27: King Salman meets with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Riyadh.

• Nov. 29: King Salman inaugurates multibillion riyal new projects in Alkhobar.

• Nov. 30: King Salman inaugurates a number of mega projects in Jubail and Ras Al-Khair.

• Dec. 2: Two major national institutions — Shoura Council and Council of Senior Scholars — are reshuffled by the king.

• Dec. 4: King Salman leaves on a four-nation Gulf tour. He starts his tour in Abu Dhabi.

• Dec. 6: King Salman arrives in Bahrain for the 37th  GCC summit, delivers a speech urging world’s action to end the bloodshed in Syria.

• Dec. 13: Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) officially launches new currency of different denominations to mark the era of King Salman.

• Dec. 15: King Salman delivers the annual speech at the opening ceremony of the Shoura Council, saying that terror peddlers won’t be allowed to exploit the youth.

• Dec. 23: King Salman chairs an extraordinary session of the Cabinet, during which he approves the state budget for 2017.