Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman will be skipping the Arab League summit on the advice of doctors who have asked the royal to avoid travelling, a statement from the Algerian presidency said on Saturday.

Bin Salman has "expressed his regret for not attending the Arab summit", in a telephone conversation with Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the statement said.

The 2022 Arab League Summit – an important gathering of Arabic countries from the Middle East and north Africa – will see around 17 leaders in attendance in Algeria for a two-day conference starting 1 November.

Another statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry said the two leaders spoke over a phone call but did not state that the crown prince was going to miss the summit.

“During the telephone conversation, the aspects of bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries were reviewed. Also, they discussed opportunities for joint cooperation between the Kingdom and Algeria in various fields and ways to develop them,” the statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry read on Sunday.

Saudi officials made no reference to the cited health scare for the Saudi kingdom’s de-facto ruler.

Bin Salman, 37, has for several years been seen as the effective ruler of Saudi Arabia, with his 86-year-old father King Salman suffering from his own health problems. The arrangement was formalised late last month when Bin Salman was named prime minister.

The Arab summit comes at a time when Algeria is witnessing heightened diplomatic tensions with neighbour Morocco over terrorism accusations. The two nations severed ties after Algeria accused Morocco of backing two organisations it called “terrorist” and charged them with “hostile acts”.

Officials in Algiers are amping up promotions for the meeting using the slogan “Uniting the Arab League”.

Last month, Mr Tebboune had told a local newspaper that Algeria’s “keenness to organise the Arab summit in our country stems from our determination to make it a unifying event... It will be, God willing, a new start for the Arab world that is suffering from rupture…”, reported pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are also among the leaders expected to attend the summit, according to an Algerian newspaper.

Read More