Kuwait Emir Leaves for 'Routine' Medical Tests in U.S.

Emir of OPEC member Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, left for New York on Monday to undergo "routine" medical tests, the official KUNA news agency reported.

The agency provided no details on the nature of the tests nor the duration of the stay of the emir, who turns 85 in June.

Sheikh Sabah, who in February 2000 underwent heart pacemaker surgery, had also traveled to New York last September for medical tests.

Sheikh Sabah ascended to power in January 2006 after serving as foreign minister for almost four decades and premier for three years.

He had successful urinary tract surgery in the United States in August 2007.

Kuwait is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.