they ordinarily would be at this hour. the king solomon is 79 which is relatively young by royal standards. the path he chooses for the kingdom will be vitally important to the united states of course the influence that saudi arabia carries in the arab and muslim world as well as the economic cloud it holds as the world s leading oil exporter. a lot to talk about now. nic robertson is following for us. and on the phone, chief international correspondent, christiane amanpour joins us as well. christiane let s start with you. obviously, the king was quite old when he officially took the throne but he was still considered a reformer. though a reformer in a very conservative context of saudi arabia. reporter: well anderson that s right. king ab doula was king far short of time he was ruler of saudi arabia since 1995. sort of dates back to when his predecessor king stod developed a debilitating stroke. he s the man the united states and the rest of the worltd has dealt with for
seemed larger than they ordinarily would be at this hour. his hand picked successor king solomon is relatively young by saudi standards. the king that is chose enn will be vital to the united states as well as the economic clout they hold as the world s leading oil exporter. there is a lot to talk about. nic robertson is monitoring the situation there, and so is bob bear baer who has seen it all in that region over the years, and christiane amanpour joining us via phone. d when he officially took the throne but he was still considered a reformer. though a reformer in a very conservative context of saudi arabia. reporter: well, anderson, that s right. king abdullah was king far short of time. he was ruler of saudi arabia since 1995. sort of dates back to when his predecessor king saud developed a debilitating stroke. he s the man the united states and the rest of the world has dealt with for the last 20 years. he has had several very important initiatives and very thwarted i