Foreign ministers of Iran, Saudi meet in Beijing

Dubai: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud and Hossein Amirabdollahian, respectively, met in Beijing on Thursday and issued a joint statement, Arab News reported.

The meeting was the first of its kind in more than seven years, with the senior-most diplomats of the countries meeting each other.

Among other things, the joint statement informed the resumption of flights between the two countries and the granting of visas for citizens, including Umrah visas. Further, both will reopen their respective embassies and consulates in Jeddah and Mashhad. Delegates from the private sector as well as officials from governments, resume their visits to both countries, the statement said.

There was footage posted on Twitter by Saudi state TV Al-Ekhbariya, featuring two ministers standing next to each other, greeting each other and shaking hands. Also, other footage showed them getting ready for discussions.

The countries praised China for allowing their meeting in the country’s capital. The two ministers then thanked the Swiss government for its efforts to cater to Saudi’s and Iran’s interests.

In talks brokered by China early in March, Saudi and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of bitterness between them.

Both the countries agreed to activate the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 as well as the trade, economy and investment agreement signed in 1998, a trilateral statement published on March 10 suggested.

Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser, Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban and Iran’s senior security official, Ali Shamkhani, signed the agreement made to re-launch ties between the nations.