Saudi monarch Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud’s first visit to Russia is over. The previous time he was in Moscow in 2006 as the governor of the Riyadh Region. During the high-level talks, Vladimir Putin and King Salman spoke about development of the contacts through the regions. The leaders of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chechnya and Ingushetia took part in the negotiations.
Several interdepartmental agreements and commercial contracts were signed, including the agreement on development of the cooperation between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Among the promising sectors on which the agreements have been reached today are nuclear energy, cooperation in the development of outer space, agro-industrial complex and infrastructure projects. The commission on military-technical cooperation is to hold its first meetings before the end of this year.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the ceremony of signing documents following the Russian-Saudi talks
King Salman positively assessed the efforts that are being made on the Syrian settlement within the framework of the Astana format, and the Russian side - the efforts that Saudi Arabia is undertaking to unite the Syrian opposition and consolidate it on a constructive platform for negotiations with the government.
Energy Minister Alexander Novak at the ceremony of signing documents on the results of the Russian-Saudi talks
Commenting on the visit of the Saudi delegation to Moscow, the director general of the King Faisal Center for Science and Islamic Studies, Saud al-Sarhan, expressed the opinion that this is a natural historical event for the both countries: "We understand the importance of Russia's role in the modern world and especially in the Middle East politics and the situation in the Middle East. The main thing is the strengthening of our relations in the political field, further development of the independence of the individual states. We know that Vladimir Putin attaches great importance to the development of relations with Palestine, as well as the situation in Iraq. We also attach great importance to the stabilization of the situation in the Middle East and in certain countries of this region. The relations between the two countries will be strengthened in the fight against terrorism ... In addition, we are interested in the Muslim regions of Russia. We have historical relations with them. "
Director general of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev at the ceremony of signing documents on the results of the Russian-Saudi talks
Alexei Vasiliev, the honorary president of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Scientific Council of the Russian International Affairs Council, in his turn, expressed the opinion that the development of relations meets the national interests of the both countries in the field of security and economy. ’’The falling of the oil prices has been stopped, due to the efforts of Russia and Saudi Arabia and relations between Russia and OPEC. The economic cooperation in the field of energy, oil, gas and petrochemical production and other areas may develop as a result of this visit. Perhaps, the military-technical cooperation between our two countries will start also. The joint efforts of the two countries can help stabilize the situation in the Middle East and counter threats such as terrorism. "
Rosatom’s director general Alexei Likhachev at the ceremony of signing documents on the results of the Russian-Saudi talks
