Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has announced that Riyadh and Tehran resumed official diplomatic ties on Thursday, IRNA News agency reports. Kanaani, who is accompanying Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in the visit to Beijing, told reporters on Thursday that in line with negotiations between foreign minister of Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two sides underlined the importance of stability and security in the region as well as the maintenance of security by the regional players.
According to the spokesman, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have expressed readiness of their countries to implement basic agreements existing between the two sides, including a comprehensive accord on mutual cooperation and a security agreement; so, they agreed upon taking steps in this respect gradually.
He went on to say that the Saudi and Iranian sides negotiated on expansion of economic exchanges in both public and private sectors, and that they underlined that the existing contracts between the two states pave the legal way for initiating and improving such activities.
Private and public delegations from both countries are scheduled to hold talks on the expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation, he said, adding that Riyadh and Tehran have reached a consensus to facilitate aerial transportation between Saudi Arabia and Iran following meetings between technical delegations of both sides.
They also plan to facilitate issuing visas and other related services to the nationals of both states to carry out economic and trade exchanges as well as Umrah pilgrimage, Kanaani noted.
The Saudi and Iranian foreign minister held talks in Chinese capital today; then, their joint statement was singed in the presence of their Chinese counterpart on Thursday morning.
Riyadh and Tehran agreed to reopen embassies and consulates and expressed readiness to remove obstacles in the way of improving collaborations.
Senior Saudi and Iranian officials held talks in Beijing in March. They signed an accord to restore diplomatic ties following a China-brokered negotiations.
