RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Tehran on Satur-day where he met President Ebrahim Raisi and Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
At the presidential palace, Prince Faisal handed President Raisi an invitation to the Kingdom on behalf of King Salman. He also conveyed the greetings and wishes of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the president and people of Iran for their country’s further progress and prosperity.
Prince Faisal described his talks with his Iranian counterpart as “positive” and said the discus-sions “stressed the necessity of noninterference in internal affairs.”
Prince Faisal and Amir-Abdollahian held bilateral talks at the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s build-ing, which were followed by a joint press conference.
Saudi Arabia and Iran announced in March that they had reached an agreement, brokered by China, to reestablish diplomatic relations seven years after formal ties between the two coun-tries were severed.
Prince Faisal said Riyadh hoped the restoration of relations with Tehran would have a positive impact, both regionally and internationally. “I would like to refer to the importance of cooperation between the two countries on regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation, and the importance of cooperation among all regional countries to ensure that it is free of weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
Amir-Abdollahian said the two sides explored the establishment of a “joint economic, political and border committee.”
They also discussed the importance of strengthening joint coordination on numerous regional and international issues of mutual concern to achieve security and stability for the region and the world. Developments in regional and international arenas were also discussed.
Under the deal signed in March, Riyadh and Tehran agreed to reopen embassies and consulates in each other’s countries, and to implement security and economic cooperation agreements that were signed more than 20 years ago.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 following an attack by pro-regime protesters on its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.
Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh earlier this month. Prince Faisal said that work was underway to establish diplomatic and consular missions in the two countries. The Saudi foreign minister added that he hoped the bilateral relations would reflect positively on Saudi Arabia and Iran, and open horizons of cooperation in various fields.
Speaking after talks with Amirabdollahian, Prince Faisal said the Saudi king and crown prince were looking forward to Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi “accepting the invitation to visit the Kingdom soon, God willing.” –Agencies
