SAUDI Arabia’s King Salman has been admitted to hospital for unspecified tests, reported state media today.

The kingdom has generally sought to quell speculation over the health of the 86-year-old monarch, who has ruled the top oil exporter and biggest economy in the Arab world since 2015.

The ageing leader entered King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah yesterday “to conduct some medical examinations”, according to an official report, citing a royal court statement.

“May God preserve the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and may he enjoy health and wellness.”

It is rare for the secretive kingdom to report on the health of the monarch.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler of the country.

King Salman underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder in 2020.

He was most recently hospitalised in March, for what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker.

Under his rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, while adopting a more assertive foreign policy, including entering a war in neighbouring Yemen. – AFP, May 8, 2022.