Thaw in Saudi, Iran Ties As Foreign Ministers Meet
It was the first visit by a Saudi official to Tehran in more than seven years.
By Maziar Motamedi
TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian welcomed his Saudi counterpart at the foreign ministry ahead of bilateral talks and a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
The Saudi minister is also meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has just finished a tour of Latin America.
During the news conference, the two diplomats hailed re-establishment of diplomatic relations, which they said would be paramount to improving security across the region.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never equated security with militarism, and considers security to be a comprehensive concept, which includes political, economic, cultural, trade and social dimensions between all the countries of the region,” Amirabdollahian said.
The Iranian foreign minister added that he discussed a wide range of issues with his counterpart, which included trade ties and joint investments, in addition to accommodating Saudi tourists and pilgrims who may be interested in visiting Iran.
For his part, bin Farhan said “mutual respect, non-interference in the two countries’ internal affairs and commitment to the United Nations Charter” will be at the centre of bilateral relations going forward, with an eye on securing the interests of both nations.
“I would also like to highlight the two countries’ discussions on cooperation on ensuring maritime security and reducing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
According to Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, “The two countries are serious about resuming diplomatic relations and they want to move forward despite not having any relationship for the past seven years.”
“The area of expansion is not only political but the economic aspect of the relationship with also be very significant. The Iranians are hoping to increase trade with Saudi Arabia to reach $1 billion annually. It’s currently at about $15 million,” Jabbari said, reporting from Tehran.
The economic incentive is significant, says Abdulaziz Alghashian, a Saudi foreign policy researcher with the UK’s Lancaster University.
“I think what the Saudis would get out of this is that they want stability in the region in order to start to build upon the projects and economic vision the country has. I think they realise that these very lofty, ambitious economic projects cannot be obtained within an unstable region,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It’s not enough to just trust each other. Where I think the Saudi-Iranian relations are going are in a sphere where they are both incentivised to de-escalate any tensions should they arise in the future. And conflict is inevitable. But I think it’s the way they address these conflicts and the reasons to de-escalate and that’s where the economic issue [factors in].” – Al Jazeera
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.