Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz held separate telephone calls on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
King Salman expressed Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with Italy as it confronts the coronavirus outbreak, saying the Kingdom was closely monitoring the developments.
The two leaders hoped that the G20 efforts and policies would help overcome the coronavirus pandemic and limit its global impact.
In his talks with Xi, King Salman hailed China’s success in combating the virus, noting the unique expertise its medical institutions have gained from handling the crisis.
He stressed the need to learn from China’s experience in confronting the virus.
For his part, Xi underlined the close relations between Saudi Arabia and China, hailing Riyadh for offering its support to his country at the beginning of the crisis.
He also underscored Beijing’s readiness to cooperate with Riyadh in confronting the outbreak through all possible means.
He also praised Saudi Arabia’s leading role as president of the G20 and its efforts in ensuring the success of the group’s virtual summit on Thursday and that was chaired by King Salman.