The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Beijing on Thursday in the highest-level meeting between the regional rivals since they cut ties seven years ago, discussing the resumption of flights and the reopening of diplomatic missions.
In a joint statement, the two governments said that given their natural resources and economic potential, they saw “great opportunities to achieve shared benefits for their two peoples.”
The meeting came after a surprise rapprochement — mediated by China last month — in which the countries agreed to re-establish their diplomatic missions within two months.
The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said they would move forward with steps to reopen their embassies in Tehran and Riyadh, according to the statement.
They also agreed that technical teams from both countries would discuss further steps, including the resumption of flights, visits by official delegations and the granting of visas to each other’s citizens.
New York Times News Service
