The foreign policies of Saudi King Abdullah, who passed away on Thursday, translated into a powerful assertion of Saudi Arabia's influence around the Middle East.

He floated the idea of the Arab Peace Initiative when he was crown prince at the 2002 Arab League summit that was held in Beirut.

Saudi King Abdullah, who passed away on Thursday, had the aim to modernize the kingdom to face the future. He was also a committed supporter of dialogue to solve conflicts.

In 2008, Abdullah made an impassioned plea for dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews — the first such proposal from a nation with no diplomatic ties to Israel and a ban on non-Muslim religious services and symbols.

The United States does not expect any change in its relations with Saudi Arabia following the death of longtime king Abdullah and the ascension of Salman, the State Department said Friday.

"We have a long history of cooperation. We don't have any indication that that cooperation will change," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Human Rights Watch urged new Saudi King Salman Friday to end the "persecution of dissidents and minorities" and to protect the rights of women and migrant workers.

King Salman was announced as the highly conservative kingdom's new ruler overnight, after the death of King Abdullah, his half-brother.

Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, appointed second in line to the Saudi throne Friday, has waged war against Al-Qaida and survived a suicide bombing claimed by jihadists.

His appointment was among the first decrees announced by King Salman, the successor to King Abdullah who died after weeks in hospital where he was treated for pneumonia.

As the world's powerful mourn the deceased Saudi King Abdullah, don't forget about the horrors inflicted on blogger Raef Badawi, Amnesty International head Salil Shetty told AFP in an interview Friday.

Shetty was speaking on the sidelines of the snow-covered World Economic Forum in Davos, where the program for Friday was upended by the passing of the Saudi leader.

Saudi Arabia is expected to remain a close ally of the West in the fight against Islamic extremism and maintain a wary relationship with rival Iran following the death of King Abdullah, analysts say.

Riyadh is part of a U.S.-led coalition carrying out air strikes against Islamic State group militants in Syria and Iraq, and experts say the strategic alliance is likely to continue.

Saudi Arabia buried King Abdullah Friday as foreign leaders gathered in the capital for the funeral of the ruler of the world's top oil exporter and the spiritual home of Islam.

Abdullah, a cautious reformer who led his kingdom through a turbulent decade in a region shaken by the Arab Spring uprisings and Islamic extremism, died early Friday aged about 90.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday postponed a planned trip to Somalia in order to attend the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, official media reported.

Erdogan is currently on a tour of Africa and was due to travel later Friday to Somalia, where Turkey is a major investor, in what was to be a rare visit by a foreign leader to the war-torn nation.

The chief economist of the International Energy Agency said Friday there would be no "significant" changes to Saudi oil policy following the death of King Abdullah.

"With the death of the king, with the changes (in government), I do not expect any significant change in the oil policy of Saudi Arabia and I expect and hope that they will continue to be a stabilization factor in the oil markets," Fatih Birol told Agence France Presse on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.