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Gulf

Saudi Arabia, Qatar Affirm Advancing Political, Security, Economic Ties

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Qatar Affirm Advancing Political, Security, Economic Ties

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani presided over the seventh sitting of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council on Tuesday.

The leaders delved into a comprehensive review of the strong fraternal ties between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, exploring avenues to bolster and advance cooperation across various domains, particularly in the realms of politics, security, economics, investment, and more.

During the council's session, several regional and international issues of mutual interest were addressed, with a particular focus on the latest developments in the region.

The leaders engaged in a fruitful exchange of perspectives on matters contributing to regional stability and security.

Additionally, the meeting witnessed the Saudi Crown Prince and Qatari Emir exchanging a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding spanning multiple sectors.

This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of both nations to enhance their strategic partnership and foster mutually beneficial initiatives.

In a joint statement, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman acknowledged the rapid development and collaboration across all fronts in the bilateral relations.

He emphasized the significance of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council as a crucial means of communication and coordination that embodies these robust ties.

He underscored the duty to earnestly strive towards deepening and expanding areas of bilateral cooperation to achieve a future renaissance and sustainable growth for both nations and their people.

Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar expressed satisfaction with the achieved results, positive outcomes, and initiatives, reaching a consensus on the signing of various agreements and memoranda of understanding.

These agreements aim to enhance cooperation between the two nations across various fields, with a commitment to strengthening and deepening the distinguished bilateral relations and taking them to broader horizons.

In the political realm, both parties expressed contentment with the advanced level of political consultations.

They emphasized the importance of continuing to strengthen and enhance cooperation and consultation on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

As for security and military affairs, both parties emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation to contribute to the support of regional security and stability.

This involves strengthening areas such as military training, sponsorship, the exchange of expertise, and the establishment of partnerships.

On the sports front, both sides commended the collaboration during Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, highlighting the facilitation of fan transportation, including coordination at land and air entry points.

In the cultural, tourism, and entertainment spheres, they lauded the existing collaboration between the two nations in these areas.

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Gulf

Saudi Arabia Seeks Lasting Agreement to Enhance Regional Security

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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Saudi Arabia Seeks Lasting Agreement to Enhance Regional Security

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the agreement between the United States and Iran to end military operations, reached through mediation efforts by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s aspiration for a lasting agreement that enhances regional security and stability.

The remarks came during a phone call the Crown Prince received on Friday from Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who expressed his appreciation for the Kingdom’s support in efforts to reach the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

In turn, the Crown Prince welcomed the agreement between the United States and Iran to end military operations and emphasized the Kingdom’s hope that it would lead to a durable arrangement that strengthens security and stability across the region.

The two leaders also reviewed bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and explored avenues to enhance joint cooperation.

For his part, Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on his official account on the social media platform X that the phone call was marked by warmth and mutual appreciation. He added that he congratulated Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the signing of the “historic Islamabad peace agreement.”

The Pakistani prime minister stressed that the Saudi Crown Prince’s leadership, together with the Kingdom’s steadfast commitment to supporting security, stability and peace in the Middle East, had been a key pillar in advancing efforts to overcome the region’s crisis.

Shehbaz Sharif added: “We agreed that the next phase requires continued commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as the primary path forward, while maintaining the highest level of vigilance against any attempts to undermine the peace process or obstruct the progress achieved.”

He further expressed deep appreciation for the exceptional level reached in Saudi-Pakistani relations, affirming his desire to continue working jointly to strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries under the vision and leadership of Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, Pakistan Move to Deepen Partnership, Cooperation

Foreign ministers attend a four-way meeting in Riyadh on March 20. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Foreign ministers attend a four-way meeting in Riyadh on March 20. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, Pakistan Move to Deepen Partnership, Cooperation

Foreign ministers attend a four-way meeting in Riyadh on March 20. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Foreign ministers attend a four-way meeting in Riyadh on March 20. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt will host a four-way meeting with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, days after Washington and Tehran finalized a memorandum of understanding to stop the war that began in late February.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will meet his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Türkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Pakistan’s Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Cairo on Sunday for a four-way meeting, Egypt’s state news agency reported late on Thursday.

The talks will be followed by an expanded session and a press conference.

A former Egyptian diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat the meeting would focus on “ways to consolidate cooperation, deepen partnership and coordinate on regional issues, complete efforts to cement de-escalation in the region, and narrow differences during the next 60 days of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.”

The quartet played a prominent role in reaching the US-Iran agreement days ago. Its efforts formally began with a meeting in March in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, followed by meetings in Islamabad and Antalya as part of efforts to end the Iran war.

The meeting comes two days after the Swiss government said negotiations between the United States and Iran, due to begin on Friday in Switzerland, had been postponed indefinitely.

The announcement came hours after a planned visit by US Vice President JD Vance was canceled.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said earlier on Thursday that he had approved the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran, despite expressing reservations about it.

US forces said they had lifted a naval blockade on Iranian ports after the memorandum was signed by the US and Iranian presidents on Wednesday.

Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and a former assistant foreign minister, told Asharq Al-Awsat the call for the four-way meeting marked an important step in regional consultations at a time of deep strategic shifts in the Middle East.

He cited the ceasefire, the containment of the US-Iran military confrontation, and the risks of the continuing war in Gaza and its impact on regional security and stability.

He said the “consultative quartet” of influential regional states had “proved its presence as an effective regional and international framework capable of addressing problems and issues in coordination with regional states and major powers to calm regional conditions and deal with their problems.”

Hegazy said the meeting’s importance went beyond traditional political coordination. He expected the agenda to include support for consolidating the “Washington-Tehran agreement,” continuing negotiations, discussing Gaza and Lebanon, and backing efforts to secure a sustainable regional calm.

The meeting is also expected to “open the door to deepening partnership and coordination among the quartet, and to studying the possibility of holding a regional or international conference on security and cooperation in the Middle East, similar to successful experiences in other regions,” Hegazy said.

Such a conference, he said, would aim to draft a declaration of principles governing regional relations and establish institutional mechanisms for dialogue, dispute settlement, and stronger economic, security and humanitarian cooperation among the region’s countries.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Abdelatty held separate phone calls with Pakistan’s Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional developments after the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

An official statement said the Egyptian and Pakistani ministers stressed “the importance of continuing coordination and joint consultation in the coming phase to ensure the implementation of the memorandum of understanding and reach a final and sustainable agreement that takes into account the interests and concerns of all parties and strengthens diplomatic solutions, in a way that achieves security and stability in the region.”

In his call with Araghchi, Abdelatty expressed hope that the memorandum of understanding would become “an important turning point in support of security and stability in the region, and contribute to opening the way to addressing all issues through dialogue and diplomatic means.”

He also voiced hope for a final and sustainable agreement that addresses the concerns of all parties and supports efforts to achieve lasting security and stability in the region.

Hegazy said it was important to maintain “serious dialogue among the main regional powers over the shape of the regional order that should govern relations among the countries of the region in the next phase, ensuring a shift from the logic of managing successive and recurring crises to building a stable system of security, cooperation and development.”

The current phase requires “the formulation of mutual understandings with Iran on the security of the Arabian Gulf, in a way that reassures all parties and lays the foundation for normal relations based on good neighborliness, common interests, and the non-use or threat of force,” Hegazy said.

He also called for strengthening political and security dialogue mechanisms to prevent the region from returning to cycles of escalation and confrontation, and for building frameworks to manage cooperation and development among the region's countries across various fields.

Gulf

Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Written Message from Chinese Counterpart

Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua.(SPA)
Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua.(SPA)
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Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Written Message from Chinese Counterpart

Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua.(SPA)
Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua.(SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a written message from Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi concerning relations between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday.

The message was received by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji during a meeting at the ministry's headquarters in Riyadh with Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments.