Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has postponed a four-day state visit trip to Japan, the Japanese government has said.
The trip, which had been set to start on Monday, would have been the crown prince’s first visit to Japan since 2019. Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said the two nations would reschedule the visit, without indicating when.
Prince Mohammed was set to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have an audience with Emperor Naruhito and attend a “court luncheon”.
The Japanese government said last week that Mr Kishida planned to discuss a “broad range” of issues regarding the Middle East and the global community during Prince Mohammed's visit.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Saudi Arabia became Japan’s eighth-biggest trading partner last year, with bilateral trade reaching $42 billion.
The announcement of the crown prince's delayed trip comes a day after Saudi King Salman underwent a medical examination after experiencing fever and joint pain, and had a lung infection diagnosed, the royal court reported.
After the tests at the Royal Clinics at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, the medical team advised that King Salman should undergo a programme of treatment and antibiotics until the infection cleared up.
The king chaired last week's cabinet meeting in Jeddah where he reviewed the kingdom's plans to receive more than two million Muslims for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
He was admitted to hospital last month for a routine check-up.
In May 2022, King Salman was admitted to the same hospital and underwent a colonoscopy, and the “result was sound”, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He was admitted to the hospital in March 2022, where he underwent medical tests and doctors changed the batteries in his pacemaker.
In July 2020, King Salman had a successful operation to remove his gall bladder after inflammation.
King Salman, 88, has been on the throne since 2015. His son, 38, was named Crown Prince in 2017.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
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Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
