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JEDDAH, 22 May 2004 — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, left the Armed Forces Hospital here yesterday, 18 days after undergoing an operation to remove an intestinal polyp, the royal court said. The May 3 operation was successful, and Prince Sultan has since been shown daily on television receiving a stream of visitors including foreign dignitaries. Saudi Television also aired footage of the prince leaving hospital. Visitors included King Hamad of Bahrain, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad, Jordan’s King Abdallah as well as Saudi officials and popular delegations from different regions of the Kingdom. “Prince Sultan spent some time in hospital after successful surgery. All the results were satisfactory and he enjoys good health,” the royal court said, adding that the prince would spend “a period of convalescence outside hospital.” The prince thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah, other officials, Saudi citizens and the heads of foreign countries who expressed their good wishes while he was in the hospital. Crown Prince Abdullah later visited Prince Sultan at his palace in Khalediya in Jeddah and congratulated him on his recovery. Prince Abdullah was received on arrival at the palace by officials including Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, the governor of Eastern Province, Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, and Prince Fahd ibn Sultan, the governor of Tabuk. DCA Center in Madinah The Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) has named its center in Madinah after Prince Sultan, who is also chairman of the Prince Sultan Charitable Foundation. Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chairman of DCA’s board of directors, said the center was named after the prince on the occasion of the success of the surgical operation he had undergone recently. The decision was also taken “in appreciation of Prince Sultan’s continuous support to the association in general and to the Madinah center in particular.” Prince Sultan had made a large donation to establish the association and attended its opening ceremony. He gave SR10 million toward an endowment to meet the DCA’s running costs. |
