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Moscow: Economic Cooperation With Arab World Is Our Foreign Policy Top Priority

Logo of Arabia Expo 2019
Logo of Arabia Expo 2019
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Moscow: Economic Cooperation With Arab World Is Our Foreign Policy Top Priority

Logo of Arabia Expo 2019
Logo of Arabia Expo 2019

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that economic cooperation with the Arab world was a top priority of Russian foreign policy, pointing to the implementation of around 400 investment projects worth more than $40 billion by Arab and Russian companies.

Lavrov said at the opening ceremony of the Arabia Expo 2019 in Moscow on Monday that the volume of trade between Russia and Arab countries grew by 8 percent in 2018, reaching $22 billion.

Stressing the need to further promote bilateral cooperation, he pointed to large joint projects between Russia and the Arab region, including the Egyptian nuclear power station.

Arabia Expo 2019 kicked off on Monday, with the participation of around 700 companies from 20 countries of the Arab world and the Middle East, officials from the Russian and Arab governments. The Russian-Arab Business Council was also launched in conjunction with the event.

At the opening ceremony, Lavrov delivered a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I am sure that the Expo and discussions in the Russian-Arab Business Council will contribute to the expansion of useful contacts between business circles, businessmen, organizations and small and medium enterprises to reach new trade agreements and contracts of mutual benefit to the parties,” he said.

The Russian president also praised the role of the Arab-Russian Business Council in promoting bilateral relations and seeking to increase the volume of trade exchange and to implement many economic projects, especially in the fields of energy and transportation.

The exhibition presents an arena for strengthening trade and economic relations between Russian and Arab partners. Besides the wide Arab presence, the exhibition was attended by 85 regions of the Russian Federation, all of which are looking to expand trade cooperation with partners in the Arab world.

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World

Russian Strike Kills Three in South Ukraine

This handout photo taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 6, 2026, shows firefighters putting out a fire in a residential building following Russian strike in Odesa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 6, 2026, shows firefighters putting out a fire in a residential building following Russian strike in Odesa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
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Russian Strike Kills Three in South Ukraine

This handout photo taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 6, 2026, shows firefighters putting out a fire in a residential building following Russian strike in Odesa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 6, 2026, shows firefighters putting out a fire in a residential building following Russian strike in Odesa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)

A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed three people including a child, a military official said Monday.

Moscow has been firing drones at Ukraine in nightly barrages during its four-year invasion launched in February 2022, with Kyiv accusing it of attacking residential areas and targeting civilians.

"As a result of the overnight enemy attack, tragically, three fatalities are confirmed, among them a child," Sergiy Lysak, the head of the city's military administration, posted on Telegram.

Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries, he added, according to AFP.

The attack came after the governor of Russia's Krasnodar Krai said eight people, including two children, were wounded in a series of drone attacks that struck the region early Sunday.

The "massive drone attacks" caused damage to apartment buildings and homes, Veniamin Kondratyev posted on Telegram.

World

Chinese-Pakistani Initiative Seeks to Contain Regional Tension

Chang Hua, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. (Chinese Embassy to Riyadh)
Chang Hua, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. (Chinese Embassy to Riyadh)
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Chinese-Pakistani Initiative Seeks to Contain Regional Tension

Chang Hua, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. (Chinese Embassy to Riyadh)
Chang Hua, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. (Chinese Embassy to Riyadh)

A Chinese diplomat has disclosed that his country is engaged in diplomatic mediation efforts to contain the US-Israeli-Iranian war, in cooperation with Pakistan, through a five-point initiative.

Chang Hua, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, stressed the need for the international community to adhere to an objective and fair stance to contain the escalation, saying the top priority is to achieve peace and promote negotiations.

He explained that his country's foreign minister has held phone calls with his counterparts in the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, as well as Iran, Israel, France, Germany, Egypt, and Türkiye, in addition to visits by Special Envoy Zhai Jun of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue to the Gulf countries.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Hua said that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, together with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, issued a joint five-point initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the Middle East region.

He explained that the initiative is based on three main pillars, which include, a ceasefire, the launch of negotiations, and the provision of guarantees, which means an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The diplomat stressed China's willingness to work with Middle Eastern countries to implement the Global Security Initiative, which contributes to restoring stability to the region, promoting security for its peoples, and supporting world peace.

Beijing Stands by Riyadh

Hua pointed out that China and Saudi Arabia have maintained communication and coordination regarding the situation in the region, explaining that Wang held two phone calls with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, while Saudi Arabia was the first stop for the visit of the Chinese Special Envoy.

He also said that Beijing supports the efforts of Riyadh and the Gulf countries to preserve their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

Hua lauded the restraint shown by Saudi Arabia and its endeavor to achieve peace and prevent the expansion of the war, stressing his country's willingness to work with the Kingdom to restore stability in the region.

He also affirmed his country's rejection of any attack targeting the Gulf countries and its opposition to indiscriminate attacks that injure civilians, while supporting the legitimate security concerns of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia Secures Energy Despite Hormuz Challenges

Hua explained that the war, which has been going on for more than a month, has had major repercussions on regional and world security, affecting the stability of global energy supplies, production chains, and international economic growth.

He affirmed that Saudi Arabia is a major supplier of crude oil to China, pointing to the deepening alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030 in recent years, with the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the field of energy as one of the most important pillars of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

He added that China appreciates Saudi Arabia's positive role in maintaining the balance and stability of the global oil market, explaining that the Strait of Hormuz and its adjacent waters represent a vital corridor for international energy and commodity trade, and that maintaining the security and stability of this region was in the interest of the international community.

He also called on all parties to intensify efforts to reduce escalation and avoid wider disruptions that may affect the security of the global economy and energy supplies.

 

 

World

Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)

The Israeli military and medics said on Sunday that a missile fired from Iran hit a residential building in the northern city of Haifa, injuring four people.

The building was hit by a "direct impact of a missile", the military told AFP. When asked if it was a missile fired from Iran, it said: "Yes."

The strike occurred minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran.

In a separate statement, Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded when a seven-storey building sustained a direct hit.

Images and footage published by MDA show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties.

The injured included an 82-year-old man, MDA said, adding that he was in a "serious condition".

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, "we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground".