Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers meet in China
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Salma Hossein
- . April 6, 2023
- . Update: April 6, 2023 4:00 pm
The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met in the People’s Republic of China for the first time after signing of the deal to resume diplomatic relations.
According to Saudi State TV, the two ministers met during the first formal meeting in more than seven years. The two ministers greeted each other and shook hands before sitting down. They stood side by side before starting the meeting.
Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations under the deal brokered by China. The two countries also agreed to reopen their embassies in talks brokered by China.
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China, Iran and Saudi Arabia also issued a trilateral statement on March 10. Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume ties, the security cooperation agreement signed between them in 2001 and the trade agreement signed between the two countries in 1998. The trilateral agreement read, “The agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states.”
Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, the National Security adviser, Minister of State and member of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia and Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran signed the agreement to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban and Ali Shamkhani held five days of talks before signing the agreement.
After signing the agreement, Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation. They discussed a number of regional and international issues and agreed to meet in April.
According to Iranian officials, Saudi Arabia also invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for an official visit to the Kingdom.
