Kuwait's Emir Leaves For New York For Medical Tests

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 25 (AFP) - Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah left Kuwait Wednesday for New York for pre-planned "routine medical check-ups," the official KUNA news agency reported.
KUNA did not elaborate on the nature of the tests, but the 75-year-old emir, who has ruled the oil-rich Gulf Arab state for 26 years, suffered a brain hemorrhage in September 2001 and had spent four months recovering in Britain.
Since returning in January 2002, Sheikh Jaber carried out most of his official duties, including receiving world leaders, but has stopped attending most outdoor official functions and celebrations.
Last year, he received all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders at the airport but he delegated half-brother and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah to represent him at the GCC summit in the emirate.
The 73-year-old crown prince and heir to the emir, Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, has also had health problems.
Sheikh Jaber is one of the main political architects who shepherded his Gulf emirate from a subsistence economy to market capitalism, mostly thanks to oil wealth.