Saudi Arabia and Iran take a step towards resuming relations… Details
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan recently spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian over the phone to discuss the circumstances surrounding the opening of embassies and future meetings between the two countries.
In a statement published yesterday by the Saudi News Agency, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “At the beginning of the contact, the two sides exchanged congratulations and blessings on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, and the two ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon to prepare the ground for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries.”
“In the near future, we will meet with the Saudi foreign minister,” the Iranian foreign minister said in an earlier statement carried by the official IRNA news agency. “So far, we have agreed that technical teams will conduct inspections of the embassies and consulates of the two countries, in a way that will allow us to prepare for the reopening of the embassies.”
“We have had five rounds of negotiations with the Saudi side in Baghdad, and along with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s visit to Beijing, the Chinese President’s initiative was put forward and was welcomed by the leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia,” the Iranian minister said.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and China recently announced an agreement in Beijing to restore diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran and reopen their embassies and representatives in no more than two months, according to a joint statement by the three countries.
“In Beijing earlier this month, the two countries agreed to resume ties severed in 2016 and reopen embassies in two months.”
Riyadh said the agreement was reached based on the restoration of diplomatic relations, amid a common desire on both sides to resolve differences through communication and dialog.
Following the agreement, a tripartite statement was issued by the three countries, which included the items stipulated in the agreement. They included affirmation of each state’s sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, in addition to a meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to activate the exchange of ambassadors and discuss ways to strengthen relations between them, in addition to activating the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports and Youth, signed in 1998.
