Kuwait City: The emir of Kuwait has undergone a “successful minor surgery” in the United States following medical tests, the royal court said on Sunday.
Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who turns 85 in June, “will leave hospital after the usual convalescence period,” the royal court said in a brief statement carried by KUNA state news agency.
The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the surgery, but said he was operated on following “successful and reassuring” medical tests.
The emir had travelled to the United States on Monday for a “routine” medical test, KUNA said at the time.
Shaikh Sabah, who had a pacemaker implanted in February 2000, had also travelled to New York last September for medical tests.
He ascended to power in January 2006 after serving as foreign minister for almost four decades and premier for three years.
The emir had a successful urinary tract surgery in the United States in August 2007.
Shaikh Sabah earned respect in the Middle East for rebuilding ties in the region after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of his country. He has since embarked on a number of attempts at reconciling Arab countries whose relations may have soured.
In a recent attempt, he mediated between Qatar’s new Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and the Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz ahead of the GCC summit in the Kuwaiti capital.
The two had been at odds over the removal of Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohammad Mursi in a military coup in June, where Qatar sides with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mursi.
More recently, Kuwait has attempted to mediate between Qatar and Egypt’s new military-backed rulers ahead of the Arab League summit in the country on March 25-26. It is unclear if the emir, who turns 85 in June, will be back by the time of the summit.
Illness at the top of the ruling family left Shaikh Sabah as the de facto policymaker for years before he became emir, chosen as an experienced pair of hands.
