UAE president makes ‘private’ visit abroad

By Ahmed al-Masri

ABU DHABI (AA) - UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan left his country on Wednesday for a “private” visit abroad, the UAE’s official news agency has reported.

It is the third trip of its kind since 2014, when it was announced that al-Nahyan had suffered a stroke.

The news agency refrained from mentioning the president’s destination or the visit’s objective, nor did it publish photos of his departure.

Since suffering a stroke in early 2014, al-Nahyan has largely refrained from attending state functions and activities and has very rarely appeared in public.

In June of last year, al-Nahyan left the UAE for a three-month “private” trip abroad, fuelling speculation that he was in poor health.

And in January of this year, the UAE president took another week-long “private” trip to an undisclosed destination.

Al-Nahyan, 69, who also serves as ruler of Abu Dhabi, is the eldest son of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan.

He was elected by the UAE’s Supreme Council of the Union as the country’s president in 2004.