Iran’s Finance Minister Visits Saudi Arabia in Effort to Improve Tehran-Riyadh Relations

On Thursday, Saudi officials, managers from the Islamic Development Bank, and members of the Iranian Consulate General in Jeddah, a southern city of Saudi Arabia, welcomed Khandouzi upon his arrival at the airport.

The Iranian finance minister, at the head of a prominent economic delegation, is set to engage in bilateral talks with Saudi authorities and give speeches at gatherings of the Islamic Development Bank, a multilateral development finance institution situated in Jeddah that concentrates on Islamic finance for infrastructure growth.

Last month, Khandouzi stated that Tehran had the goal of increasing its yearly trade with Riyadh to $1 billion as the first step of reinstating economic relations.

The Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO) set the target according to the capabilities of both countries, according to what he said.

On May 10th, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen diplomatic ties after a period of seven years since their relations were severed. Both sides committed to establishing embassies in Tehran and Riyadh by the end of the month.

China, who acted as mediator, facilitated a landmark agreement which saw the application of a security cooperation agreement established in 2001, as well as a 1998 agreement to heighten the collaboration between the two countries in the areas of trade, investment, technology, and culture.

On the 6th of April, the foreign ministers of both countries convened in Beijing and declared a joint statement, expressing their willingness to eliminate all obstacles that stand in the way of broadening their bilateral relations.