UAE Foreign Minister Calls Restoration of Iran-Saudi Relations Important for Middle East
© AP Photo / NournewsIn this photo released by Nournews, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, China's most senior diplomat Wang Yi, center, and Saudi Arabia's National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban looks on during an agreement signing ceremony between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, in Beijing, China, Friday, March 10, 2023.
© AP Photo / Nournews
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CAIRO (Sputnik) - The restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is an important step toward stability and prosperity in the Middle Eastern region, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Saturday.
"The restoration of relations between fraternal Saudi Arabia and Iran is an important step towards stability and prosperity in the region," the UAE foreign minister said on Twitter.
On Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement mediated by China to resume relations, as well as open embassies and representative offices within two months. The joint statement was signed after days of talks between the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and his Saudi counterpart in Beijing. The foreign ministers of the two countries intend to meet to discuss the agreement's implementation.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh were severed in 2016 after an attack on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran by protesters against the kingdom's execution of prominent Shiite theologian Nimr al-Nimr, but in recent months both sides have expressed their desire to resolve existing differences. In an interview with The Atlantic, released in September, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that his country's relations with Iran should be built as with a neighbor.