Jeddah(AFP) Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud AlFaisal has made his first public appearance after undergoing surgery amid reports that he died after the operation, SPA state news agency said.
Gulf foreign ministers who had met in Jeddah on Sunday visited the ailing Prince Saud in hospital, SPA said.
A picture published by the news agency showed the 72-year-old prince dressed in traditional thawb Arabian dress and wearing sports shoes greeting the foreign ministers in the hospital.
He was shown seated and looking frail.
The royal court had said 10 days ago that Prince Saud was still recovering from an operation he underwent earlier in August to remove an obstruction in his intestines.
At the time, the court said his condition was stable but reports later surfaced claiming that he had died after the operation — prompting a denial from the foreign ministry.
The Saudi press reported on August 19 that King Abdullah had visited Saud at the Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, but no images of him were published.
Prince Saud is one of the world’s longest-serving foreign ministers, having been appointed to the post in 1975, seven months after the assassination of his father, king Faisal.
He has suffered from back problems over the years and has undergone surgery in the United States.