Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation to Riyadh on Wednesday as the two countries discussed expanding bilateral cooperation, as well as current international and regional issues.
The Russian leader was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the head of Russia’s central bank Elvira Nabiullina, as well as the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.
Following the talks, Putin said there was nothing that could stand in the way of friendly relations between Moscow and Riyadh. Prince Mohammed stated that his country was willing to work with Russia to achieve stability and prosperity for the entire world, noting that the two nations had already achieved a lot in the spheres of energy, investment, and agriculture in the past seven years.
On Thursday, Moscow and Riyadh also published a joint statement with both sides vowing to continue developing bilateral ties, working to increase mutual and joint investments, cooperate in the areas of oil and gas, as well as geoscience and knowledge sharing.
Other sectors in which there will be cooperation include the environment, agriculture and food security, technology, transport, logistics, tourism, sports, education, mass media, and healthcare.
Regarding defense and security issues, Russia and Saudi Arabia expressed their commitment to strengthening cooperation “in a way that is aimed at supporting and achieving the common interests of the two countries,” which include fighting crime, terrorism, and combating cross-border corruption.
Moscow and Riyadh also emphasized the importance of working together to confront the economic challenges facing the world by cooperating in international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the G20.
During his tour of the Middle East on Wednesday, President Putin also visited the United Arab Emirates. On Thursday, he welcomed Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi to Moscow.