Saudis hope Fahd will be discharged within days
Saudi authorities hope King Fahd will be discharged from hospital in the next few days, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said today in Cairo.
Al-Faisal was in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on development in the region, his third visit in four months.
Al-Faisal said medical reports about the king’s health had been good.
“We are hoping he will be able to leave hospital in the next few days,” al-Faisal said. “Doctors are reassured.”
King Fahd was admitted to hospital on May 27 and said to be suffering from pneumonia and a high fever.
The king, believed to be 82, suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995 that confined him mainly to a figurehead role. His half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been de facto leader since then.
The king’s illness caused concern at home and abroad, and even prompted a rise in crude oil futures.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil reserve and the home of Islam’s two holiest shrines, and is one of the closest allies to the US in the region.
