Dubai, Dec 7 (AP) Oman's 79-year-old ruler will travel to Belgium for a medical checkup, the sultanate's state-run news agency reported Saturday.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said left “for some medical checks that will take a limited period, God willing,” the Oman News Agency reported, citing a royal court statement. He has taken medical trips abroad in the past.

The sultan has ruled Oman since overthrowing his father in a bloodless 1970 coup.

He has no known successor for his throne in Oman, a country on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula home to some 4.6 million people. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)