Iran’s foreign minister on first trip to Saudi after resumption of diplomatic ties
Tehran, Aug 17 (EFE).- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will be on a day-long visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, marking the first high-level visit as the two neighbors restored ties in a China-brokered agreement.
“Amir-Abdolahian will travel to Saudi Arabia in a few hours,” the state-run Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported.
The visit follows a trip by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in June.
Bin Farhan met with Amir-Abdollahian and President Ebrahim Raisi during his landmark visit to Tehran – the first after the resumption of diplomatic ties between the kingdom and the Islamic Republic in March.
Amir-Abdollahian will meet bin Farhan and other Saudi officials during his day-long visit.
Iran’s new ambassador to the Saudi kingdom, Alireza Enayati, will accompany the minister to Riyadh.
Enayati has not yet assumed the post, even as Tehran announced his appointment earlier.
The rival countries agreed in March with Chinese mediation to normalize their diplomatic relations.
As part of the deal, Iran opened its embassy in Riyadh and its consulate general in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia did so in August and reopened its consulate in the holy city of Mashad this week.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2016 after attacks on its diplomatic headquarters in Tehran following the execution in the kingdom of a popular Shia cleric.
The agreement to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries paved the way for the readmission of Syria into the Arab League after 12 years of suspension.
The agreement also led to talks between Iran and Egypt to normalize their relations. EFE
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