Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz left the hospital in Jeddah, on Sunday, a week following entering it for medical examinations, including a colonoscopy, according to a statement by the Royal Court. Saudi Press Agency and official media.
And King Salman appeared in a video, broadcast by the news agency, late Sunday, walking slowly, leaning on a stick as he was leaving the hospital, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials next to him, before being transported in a car.
The statement stated that King Salman “left King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah following conducting medical examinations and successfully completing the treatment plan and recovery period.”
AFP says that it is rare for the kingdom to publish data related to the health of the 86-year-old king, who has led the oil state since 2015, following spending more than two and a half years as crown prince and deputy prime minister.
And the royal court had stated, in a statement, a week ago that King Salman had performed a “colonoscopy, and the result was correct,” adding that “the medical team decided to stay … in the hospital for some time to rest.”
King Salman had entered the hospital in Riyadh in March to undergo “medical tests” and “change the pacemaker’s battery”, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
In July 2020, he underwent a cholecystectomy, and in 2010 he underwent an operation to treat a herniated disc in the spine.
Since he came to power following the death of his brother, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the kingdom has launched a series of ambitious economic reforms to diversify its oil-dependent economy, in addition to granting more rights to women, but it adopted a firm foreign policy and entered the war in Yemen at the head of a military alliance.
The king opened the door to power for a young generation of the Al Saud family to take over the rule, so he made an important change in the caliphate and appointed his son Muhammad as crown prince.