Riyadh: The Saudi Arabian and Iranian foreign ministers spoke by phone to mark the beginning of Ramadan and agreed to meet soon to start re-opening embassies and consulates, according to Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs ministry.
The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, had a call with his counterpart Iranian FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and the pair ‘exchanged greetings and congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan’, which begins on Thursday in both nations, the ministry said.
‘The two ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon, to pave the way for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries,’ the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Twitter.
The minister’s expected meeting is said to be the next step in normalizing relations between the two nations following the surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement announced on March 10, which is expected to see diplomatic ties restored seven years after they were severed.