التقى وزيرا الخارجية السعودي والإيراني في بكين يوم الخميس في أول تجمع رسمي لكبار الدبلوماسيين منذ أكثر من سبع سنوات لإبرام اتفاقيات دبلوماسية واقتصادية ، مما يسلط الضوء على نفوذ الصين المتنامي في المنطقة.
أعلن وزير الخارجية الإيراني حسين أمير عبد اللهيان في تغريدة أنه أبرم اتفاقا مع نظيره السعودي الأمير فيصل بن فرحان آل سعود ، لإعادة القنصليات والسفارات ورحلات الطيران بين البلدين. ولم يتم الاعلان عن مزيد من التفاصيل.
“في وسعنا [now[ say that official relations have been activated between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” said Amir-Abdollahian, according to Iran’s state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency.
He also said that bilateral visits by official and private sector delegations would come, in addition to visas including travel for Umrah, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that many Muslims perform during the holy month of Ramadan, which is taking place this month.
#BREAKING Iran’s Foreign Minister @Amirabdolahian and his Saudi counterpart @FaisalbinFarhan met in Beijing on Thursday a few weeks after a Chinese-brokered deal to normalize Tehran-Riyadh relations after seven years. pic.twitter.com/gJhNHv7N7L
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 6, 2023
The kingdom and Iran severed ties in 2016 after protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran following the execution in Saudi Arabia of a prominent Shiite cleric.
They reached an agreement to resume relations on March 10 following months of China-brokered talks between delegations, stressing the need to respect states’ sovereignty and not interfere in their internal affairs.
Thursday’s meeting outlined the new direction Iran and Saudi Arabia plan to take. The two sides said they plan to further discuss how they could mutually benefit from enhancing their cooperation in the areas of natural resources, economic growth and establishing regional security and stability, according to the governmental Saudi Press Agency.
The historic meeting also highlighted China’s growing influence in the region, as the United States appears to be losing its own. In December, President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh for the first time in nearly seven years. They met to discuss ambitions for an initial agreement of $29.26 billion and building their economic and development cooperation.
In October, the OPEC+ decision to cut two million barrels per day (2% of global demand) went against the US request to Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the oil-producing group, to delay its decision to cut oil output by a month.
OPEC+ went ahead with the cuts, leading US President Joe Biden to vow consequences, adding to already strained relations between Riyadh and Washington.
The 23-state group decided to cut oil production again by an additional 1.16 million barrels per day on Sunday, causing oil prices to jump more than 5% the following day.
During Biden’s visit to the kingdom in July of last year, he told Arab leaders that Washington would not stand aside and allow China, Iran and Russia to take over its role in the region.