RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday expressed their deepest condolences over the passing of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. 
“King Salman and Prince Mohammed bin Salman received with great sadness and sorrow the news of the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, president of the UAE,” Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a statement from the Royal Court.
The UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced earlier on Friday that Sheikh Khalifa had died aged 73.
The king and crown prince “expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the UAE government, the Al-Nahyan family, the Emirati people, and the Arab and Islamic nations on the death of a leader who gave a lot to his people, his country and the world,” the statement added.
They affirmed that the Kingdom and the Saudi people share their sorrows with the people in the Emirates, and called for more security, stability, and prosperity for the UAE.

Meanwhile, King Salman directed to perform the absentee funeral prayer for Sheikh Khalifa, after the Friday evening prayer, at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.