Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has underscored the “central” nature of Saudi-Russian relations, emphasizing what he described as “significant success” in efforts to broaden bilateral cooperation and maintain close coordination on the international stage. He noted that political ties between the two nations “continue to advance rapidly.”
In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, marking the 9th Russian-Saudi Joint Committee and the Saudi-Russian Investment and Business Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Novak said: “Russian-Saudi political ties are actively developing; we are successfully expanding our bilateral cooperation and maintaining close interaction on the international stage.
“The established relationship of trust and dialogue between the leaders of our countries – President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman – gives impetus to this process,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Our joint efforts confirm our mutual interest and firm intention to continue making every effort to develop Russian-Saudi economic ties and to seek ways to improve bilateral cooperation,” Novak noted.
Expanding Russian-Saudi Partnership
“There is significant potential in Russian-Saudi cooperation in the field of energy, the realization of which requires fully utilizing existing technological and production capacities”, stated Novak.
He added: “We are ready to develop cooperation with the Saudi side in a number of areas: high technologies in the energy sector, including the use of artificial intelligence; participation of Russian companies as engineering partners in hydropower, engineering communications, and geological exploration projects in Saudi Arabia; as well as in projects for the construction and modernization of thermal power plants, the supply of domestically produced energy equipment, water resources management, water purification and seawater desalination, cooperation in the field of nuclear energy—including the construction of nuclear power plants of various capacities and support for the plant’s lifecycle”.
Novak went on to say that “The Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia are actively cooperating in the field of healthcare. We would like to intensify interaction in the area of pharmaceutical supply and biotechnology development, and expand scientific cooperation. We invite citizens of Saudi Arabia to study medical specialties in our country”.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed to “an important area of cooperation on the humanitarian track is education and science. We are strong in engineering specialties, medicine, as well as information technology. I emphasize that the level of training at Russian universities is confirmed by international achievements. We invite citizens of Saudi Arabia to our universities. Joint implementation of scientific projects will give an additional impetus to our cooperation.
“There is significant potential for cooperation between our countries in such sectors as the pharmaceutical industry, rehabilitation industry, medical equipment, equipment for the fuel and energy complex, renewable energy sources and ‘green’ solutions for industry, as well as a number of engineering sectors, including solutions for urban transport—environmentally friendly electric vessels, rail and monorail transport,” noted Novak.
Novak, Saudi Minister Held Plenary Session of the 9th Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission
Novak and the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, as co-chairs, held the plenary session of the 9th Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
“Russian-Saudi political ties are actively developing; we are successfully expanding our bilateral cooperation and maintaining close interaction on the international stage. The established relationship of trust and dialogue between the leaders of our countries – President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman – gives impetus to this process,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.
Novak noted the dynamically developing trade and economic cooperation between the countries. Over the past five years, the volume of bilateral trade has doubled, and this year growth has continued, amounting to 85%. The volume of accumulated investments in the Kingdom over the previous year increased sixfold, while accumulated Saudi investments in Russia grew by 11%. More than 40 joint projects have been implemented within the framework of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund.
A significant place is occupied by cooperation in the energy sector. Interaction continues within the OPEC+ agreement. Opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation are also being considered in a number of areas, including: supply of domestically produced energy equipment, introduction of high technologies and artificial intelligence in the fuel and energy sector, participation of Russian companies as engineering partners in energy projects in Saudi Arabia. There is significant potential for cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy, industry, healthcare, transport and information and communication technologies, science and education, tourism, culture, and sports.
"It is significant that in the year marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, Saudi Arabia will act as the guest country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2026, which will be held from June 3 to 6."
“Our joint efforts confirm our mutual interest and firm intention to continue making every effort to develop Russian-Saudi economic ties and to seek ways to improve bilateral cooperation,” Novak noted.
At the end of the plenary session, the final protocol of the 9th Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission was signed.
