Cape Town, South Africa — Saudi Arabia Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, met Friday with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the margins of the Ministerial Meeting of Friends of BRICS Group in Cape Town.
Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore ties in early March and reopen diplomatic missions in Chinese-brokered talks, seven years after relations were severed.
The two ministers reviewed bilateral relations in various fields, in addition to following up the steps to implement the agreement between the two countries signed in Beijing, including taking steps to ensure the achievement of international peace and security.
They expressed hope to intensify consultative meetings and discuss ways of cooperation in a way that serves the interests of the two countries.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates foreign ministers attended the BRICS meeting in South Africa this week, as the bloc seeks to expand its membership to counterbalance Western powers.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran are not members of the bloc, which is currently comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Iran submitted an application last year to join as an observer state.
The Financial Times reported this week that Saudi Arabia is in discussions to join BRICS’ lender bank, the New Development Bank. Created in 2014, the bank is seen as a counterweight to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
At the ministerial meeting of Friends of BRICS, the minister said in his speech that the kingdom is keen to advance its future cooperation with BRICS by benefiting from the potential and capabilities possessed by both sides.
The kingdom remains the BRICS group’s largest commercial partner in the Middle East.
The total value of bilateral trade with the countries of the BRICS group increased from $81 billion in 2017 and $128 billion in 2021 to surpass $160 billion last year, the Foreign Minister noted.