Saudi Arabia and Iran’s delegations meet commences, agree to reopen embassies and consulates

The meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran’s delegations commenced after their foreign ministers held mutual talks. The focus of the discussions is expected to be on the resumption of official relationships, the reopening of embassies and consulates, and mutual interests. Alireza Enayati, the Director General for the Persian Gulf Affairs of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, met with the Saudi deputy FM in Beijing.

The Iranian foreign minister and his delegation arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night, and he is scheduled to hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on cooperation in various fields, along with regional and international issues.

In the first high-level meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia in over seven years, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of Iran and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to reopen embassies and consulates in their respective countries.

The two sides, which had severed diplomatic ties in 2016, also pledged to explore ways to expand cooperation, including resuming flights, facilitating visas, and promoting trips from official delegations and the private sector.

Iran released a statement saying that the two sides expressed their willingness to overcome any obstacles to expanding cooperation between their nations. The embassies will be located in Tehran and Riyadh, while the consulates will be established in Mashhad and Jeddah. The agreement follows talks in Beijing in March, which led to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.