Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan agreed to form joint political and economic committees during a joint press conference in Tehran on Saturday.







In the press conference in Tehran on Saturday afternoon, the Iranian foreign minister expressed happiness with meeting his Saudi counterpart in Tehran and thanked Riydh for reopening Iranian diplomatic premises in Riyadh and Jeddah earlier this month. He also appreciated Saudi Arabia for the favorable holding of the Hajj pilgrimage and said that "The Iranian side will also reciprocally provide the necessary facilities for the Saudi Arabian diplomatic staff in the cities of Tehran and Mashhad."

Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran and Riyadh are set to form joint cooperation commissions in different fields.

"We agree on the importance of forming joint political, border and economic committees and combating drug trafficking, including cooperation in the field of environment, and after the approval of the agreements of the two ministers by the high officials of the two countries, we will act in the direction of implementing the agreements reached," Amir-Abdollahian also said.

He said that he has discussed durable economic cooperation and investment, as well as several other issues with bin Farhan.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian said that he had discussed with the Saudi foreign minister the issue of regional security, stressing that the security of the region will only be ensured by the regional states. He added that regional security is not limited to the military sector and it requires other sectors such as the economic field.

The Iranian foreign minister once again stressed Iran's support for the rights of the Palestinians and called for an end to the war in Sudan.

"Iran has never considered security to be equivalent to militarism as security is an inclusive concept that has political, social, economic and commercial aspects and can be achieved through cooperation among the countries of the region. We used this opportunity to discuss the necessity of supporting the oppressed people of Palestine, and we did. We believe that the issue of Palestine is fundamental and is a priority in the Islamic world and this is a common view of the two countries," he added.

Faisal bin Farhan, for his part, said that his talks with his Iranian counterpart were positive, adding that Riyadh hopes to witness an increase in diplomatic cooperation with Tehran and reopen its embassy in Iran in the near future.

Considering Iran and Saudi Arabia as two important countries of the region, the top Saudi diplomat said, "The relations between the two countries are established based on basic principles such as mutual respect and non-interference in (each other's) internal affairs and respect for the UN Charter."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Saudi foreign minister referred to the joint cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh on expanding regional security and reducing the weapons of mass destruction.

Referring to the presence of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for observing the Hajj rituals, the Saudi foreign minister noted that Riyadh has utilized all its capacities for serving the pilgrims.

Bin Farhan added that he is scheduled to meet the Iranian president Ebrahim Raeisi during his stay in Iran later today, where, he said, he would hand over King Salman's invitation to visit Riyadh to President Raieis.

"I will also have a meeting with the President of Iran to convey the warm greetings of the King and Mr. Bin Salman, and we would like them to respond postively to the invitation to visit Saudi Arabia."

By Mehr