DUBAI- The United Arab Emirates has appointed the energy minister as chairman of Emarat Petroleum, and the head of the Abu Dhabi national oil company as chairman of Emirates Development Bank, state news agency WAM said on Monday.

The appointments came during the first cabinet session since a broad government restructuring in early July. 

Energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei became head of a merged energy and infrastructure ministry during the restructuring and is now also chairman of the board of directors for fuel retailer Emirates General Petroleum (Emarat).

The head of Abu Dhabi's national oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, became industry and advanced technology minister and is now also chairman of the board of directors for Emirates Development Bank (EDB), wholly owned by the UAE government.

The UAE restructured its government to allow more agile decision making in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, merging government entities and appointing new economy and industry ministers. 

The cabinet also adopted 33 economic initiatives to support businesses until the end of 2021, a report of the meeting published by WAM said without giving specific details.

(Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) ((lisa.barrington@thomsonreuters.com;))