The absence of the Saudi king at the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council has attracted the attention of observers, especially since King Salman has not appeared in public for a long time.
According to the Pak Sahafat news agency, quoting Al-Hurra, the absence of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit has raised questions about his physical condition and the unannounced transfer of power to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
According to the report, the Saudi Crown Prince welcomed the GCC leaders and attended the GCC summit on behalf of his father, which included the King of Bahrain, the Emir of Qatar, the Vice President of the UAE, the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the Deputy Prime Minister of Oman. Â Saudi officials have not yet announced the reason for the 85-year-old king’s absence from the Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh.
In this regard, the observers of the developments in Saudi Arabia stated that the absence of King Salman indicates the transfer of more responsibilities to the Crown Prince in governing affairs, and in fact, the transfer of power from father to son has taken place.
King Salman has appeared in public only once in the last 20 months and remained in the city of Nium during the Corona epidemic, and his most recent visit to Riyadh in August 2020 was for gallbladder surgery.
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It was also the last time he met with a Western official about five months ago, when he met with former British Foreign Secretary Dominique Robb. Many former Saudi officials have stated that there is no record in Saudi history that the king has been absent from welcoming his European and Persian Gulf counterparts. King Salman has very little to do with his responsibilities, and the Crown Prince has virtually all control over everything.
According to Business Insider, more than 482 days have passed since King Salman’s consecutive stay in Kakhsh, located in the desert city of Nium in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
King Salman, 85, has ascended the throne of Saudi Arabia following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah, and rumors have been circulating about his physical condition and dementia since he ascended the throne.