<p>Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler King Salman left hospital on Thursday, authorities said, after a 10-day stay where he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.</p>.<p>"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, leaving the hospital after God blessed him with health and wellness," state media said in a caption accompanying photos of the monarch walking out of the building.</p>.<p>The foreign ministry also tweeted a video of the king leaving the hospital, walking with the aid of a cane and accompanied by a retinue including his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</p>.<p>The royal court said a week ago that he underwent laparoscopic surgery to remove his gall bladder at King Faisal hospital in Riyadh.</p>.<p>It is rare for Saudi Arabia to report on the health of the ageing monarch, who has ruled the top oil exporter and the Arab world's biggest economy since 2015.</p>.<p>However, the king's hospitalisation prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to postpone his scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p>A video released by state media shortly after the announcement showed the monarch chairing a virtual cabinet meeting from hospital, in an apparent effort to dispel rumours about his health.</p>.<p>In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of Prince Mohammed, who is seen as the de facto ruler.</p>.<p>Under the king's rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, but also adopted a more assertive foreign policy and entered a war in neighbouring Yemen.</p>.<p>The king is the second reigning monarch in the Gulf to be hospitalised recently, after Kuwait's 91-year-old emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, amid the twin regional crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a plunge in crude prices.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler King Salman left hospital on Thursday, authorities said, after a 10-day stay where he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.</p>.<p>"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, leaving the hospital after God blessed him with health and wellness," state media said in a caption accompanying photos of the monarch walking out of the building.</p>.<p>The foreign ministry also tweeted a video of the king leaving the hospital, walking with the aid of a cane and accompanied by a retinue including his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</p>.<p>The royal court said a week ago that he underwent laparoscopic surgery to remove his gall bladder at King Faisal hospital in Riyadh.</p>.<p>It is rare for Saudi Arabia to report on the health of the ageing monarch, who has ruled the top oil exporter and the Arab world's biggest economy since 2015.</p>.<p>However, the king's hospitalisation prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to postpone his scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p>A video released by state media shortly after the announcement showed the monarch chairing a virtual cabinet meeting from hospital, in an apparent effort to dispel rumours about his health.</p>.<p>In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of Prince Mohammed, who is seen as the de facto ruler.</p>.<p>Under the king's rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, but also adopted a more assertive foreign policy and entered a war in neighbouring Yemen.</p>.<p>The king is the second reigning monarch in the Gulf to be hospitalised recently, after Kuwait's 91-year-old emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, amid the twin regional crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a plunge in crude prices.</p>