Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, is recovering after a successful operation to remove his gallbladder, state news agency SPA has reported, after he was admitted to hospital this week, Al Jazeera reports.
The king, who has ruled the world's largest oil exporter and close United States ally since 2015, will stay in hospital for some time to receive treatment, SPA reported on Thursday.
King Salman, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, was admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh on Monday after suffering from inflammation of the gallbladder.
He has since chaired a cabinet meeting via video call from his hospital room on Tuesday and could be seen in a video behind a desk, reading and leafing through documents.
King Salman was crown prince and deputy prime minister for more than two and a half years from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years.
