The funeral of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan on Tuesday sets the stage for King Abdullah to appoint a new heir, widely expected to be veteran Interior Minister Prince Nayef.

'In the political system this is an important event, but the system is designed to ensure continuity,' said Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist at National Commercial Bank in Jeddah. 'Economic policy is put in place over a much longer period and is not likely to change at all.'     

In his six-year-old reign, King Abdullah has pushed changes aimed at creating jobs by liberalising markets and loosening the grip of religious hardliners over education and social policy.

The death of Crown Prince Sultan, who was also defence minister, might also lead to a wider cabinet reshuffle.

The body of Sultan, who died of colon cancer in New York on Saturday, was flown back to Riyadh on Monday, accompanied by his younger brother Prince Salman, who may now play a more prominent role.

Hundreds of men, including King Abdullah and other members of the Saud ruling family, gathered on the airport runway as the coffin was lowered into an ambulance and driven away. Funeral prayers will be held for the prince in mosques across Saudi Arabia after the Islamic afternoon prayer, when Sultan's body will be taken for burial.   

Foreign dignitaries, including US Vice-President Joe Biden, Middle Eastern foreign ministers and members of European and Gulf royal families will visit Riyadh this week to pay condolences to King Abdullah.

The seniority of the delegations demonstrates Sultan's prominent role as defence minister over five decades when he used multi-billion-dollar arms purchases to strengthen Saudi armed forces and cement ties with Western allies.

King Abdullah, who is in day-to-day charge of Saudi Arabia despite being in his late 80s and suffering back problems that needed surgery last week, must also name a new defence minister. One possible candidate is Prince Khaled bin Sultan, a son of the late crown prince who headed Saudi forces during the 1991 Gulf War and has been a deputy defence minister for 10 years.

The job could also go to Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, seen as the next most senior royal after the king and Prince Nayef.  

Given Sultan's long illness, Prince Nayef, born in 1933, has for many years been seen as the likely new crown prince.  - Reuters