Top Iranian, Saudi diplomats to meet in Beijing today
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, will reportedly meet in the Chinese capital, Beijing, today.
According to reports published on Wednesday, the meeting, which will be the first of its kind in more than seven years, is aimed at activating a recent agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to revive ties.
today’s meeting follows three telephone conversations between the top Iranian and Saudi diplomats, during which they discussed future steps regarding the landmark China-brokered reconciliation pact as well as other bilateral deals.
Beijing was chosen as the venue for the meeting as an extension of its positive role in mediating the Iran-Saudi rapprochement and facilitating communication between the two Middle Eastern powers.
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi has already accepted an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit Riyadh.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani visited Beijing on March 5 to finalize the terms of the agreement in trilateral meetings with Chinese State Councilor and former Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban.
After several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on March 10 to resume their diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions after seven years of estrangement.
In a joint statement after signing the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect each other’s national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.
They agreed to implement a security cooperation agreement signed in April 2001 and another accord reached in May 1998 to boost economic, commercial, investment, technical, scientific, cultural, sports, and youth affairs cooperation.
To the dismay of the U.S. and Israel, the detente has the potential to ease tensions across a region characterized by turbulence.