Kuwait's Emir stable after being admitted to hospital with emergency health problem

Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah handed some constitutional powers to Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Sabah two years ago

The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah in 2020. AP

The Emir of Kuwait was admitted to hospital on Wednesday “due to an emergency health problem”, but was later reported to be in a stable condition, a statement from the royal court said.

“The health condition of His Highness … is stable and he is taking necessary medication,” the court said on Wednesday evening.

The statement came hours after Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah was taken to hospital for an unknown condition.

The statement carried by the state-run Kuna news agency did not elaborate on the health problems facing the 86-year-old Emir.

Sheikh Nawaf handed over some constitutional powers to Sheikh Meshal Al Sabah two years ago.

Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal, who is also in his 80s, is the Emir's half-brother and his designated successor, appointed when Sheikh Nawaf assumed power in 2020.

Sheikh Nawaf in 2021 travelled to the US for unspecified medical checks.

He was sworn in as Emir after the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Sheikh Nawaf's term has been marked by political disputes between the appointed government and elected parliament over the past three years that meant Kuwaitis had to go to the polls three times.

Days earlier, Sheikh Nawaf issued a decree that led to a number of prisoners being pardoned, as well as the restoration of citizenship for opposition figures that were revoked about a decade ago.

In total this year, the Emir pardoned at least 37 people, including political figures and members of the ruling family, in a move welcomed by the government at the time as a step towards national reconciliation.

In 2021, Sheikh Nawaf issued a long-awaited amnesty decree, pardoning and reducing the sentences of nearly three dozen Kuwaiti political dissidents.