(MENAFN) Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has extended an invitation to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit the Arab country, calling for "strong economic and regional cooperation" between the two nations. The invitation was conveyed in a letter to President Raisi, welcoming the recent Tehran-Riyadh detente that has led to an agreement to restore diplomatic ties and re-open embassies. Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs in the Iranian president's office, tweeted about the invitation and noted that Raisi welcomed it and expressed Iran's readiness to expand cooperation.
The Saudi government has not yet issued any official comment on the letter. The two countries had severed diplomatic ties in January 2016, and their recent reconciliation was achieved after two years of talks brokered by China and held in Iraq and Oman. The final round of talks, which resulted in the breakthrough, was spearheaded by top security officials from both countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that he will soon meet with his Saudi counterpart, and three places have been proposed for the high-profile meeting. The two sides have also agreed to have technical teams visit diplomatic missions to re-open them, as outlined in the joint statement issued after the restoration of diplomatic ties. The detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia is expected to have a positive impact on the region, as the two countries have been regional rivals for decades.
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