NEW YORK: King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, arrived here Tuesday. The King is to undergo medical tests in the United States for a slipped disc and a blood clot that was pressing on nerves in his back. At John F. Kennedy Airport, the King was received by Prince Abdulrahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Prince Abdulilah Bin Abdul Aziz, Advisor to the King; Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of the Eastern Province; Prince Saud Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz; a number of princes; Khaled Bin Abdulrahman Al-Essa, Vice President of the Royal Court, and Adel Bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Saudi Ambassador to the United States, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The King left Riyadh Monday after mandating Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, to administer the nation's affairs in his absence. In Washington, the State Department said that it helped facilitate arrangements for King Abdullah's arrival in the US for treatment. “The King is a valued partner,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. “We wish him a speedy recovery. We want to see him up and about as quickly as possible.”
