Tehran-Riyadh détente: Iran’s finance minister arrives in Saudi Arabia
Iran’s Finance Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has arrived in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Iranian official to visit the Arab kingdom following a China-brokered reconciliation agreement between Tehran and Riyadh.
Khandouzi arrived at the airport of Saudi Arabia’s southern city of Jeddah on Thursday and was welcomed by Saudi officials, Islamic Development Bank managers, and members of the Iranian Consulate General in the city.
The Iranian finance minister, who is heading a high-ranking economic delegation, is scheduled to take part in bilateral meetings with Saudi officials and deliver speeches at meetings of the Islamic Development Bank, a Jeddah-based multilateral development finance institution focusing on Islamic finance for infrastructure development.
Khandouzi said last month that Tehran aimed to raise its annual trade with Riyadh to $1 billion in the first step of resuming economic ties.
He said the target was set by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO) based on the two countries’ capacities.
On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties seven years after they severed relations. According to the agreement, the two sides committed to reopening embassies in Tehran and Riyadh by May.
The landmark agreement, mediated by China, also included the implementation of a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and a 1998 pact to boost bilateral cooperation on trade, investment, technology, and culture.
On April 6, the foreign ministers of both countries met in Beijing and issued a joint statement, expressing readiness to remove all impediments to the expansion of bilateral ties.
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