ABU DHABI // A high-level UAE delegation has arrived in Riyadh to pay its respects following the death of the Saudi king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, went to Riyadh on Saturday evening to pass their condolences to the grieving kingdom.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had also offered his condolences through the social media site Twitter.
“With wisdom, commitment and generosity, and with dedication to the service of Islam and Muslims, King Abdullah conquered the hearts of his people and the hearts of Muslims. May he rest in peace and God’s mercy be upon him,” he tweeted.
King Abdullah died in the early hours of Friday at the age of 90. He had been taken to hospital with pneumonia shortly prior to his death.
The UAE announced three days of mourning in his honour and cancelled a number of concerts and other festivities around the country.
The UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa, has mourned the death of King Abdullah, praying that his soul would be blessed.
“We mourn the death of one of the most notable leaders of the Arab Nation and Muslim Nation who generously gave a lot to his people and his nation and sincerely defended the causes of the Arab Nation and the Muslim Nation,” Sheikh Khalifa said, according to Wam, the state news agency.
Other world leaders had begun to arrive in Saudi Arabia to pay their respects, including the French president Francois Hollande, Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, and Spain’s King Felipe VI.
The US president, Barack Obama, is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.
osalem@thenational.ae
