Russia, Saudi Arabia sign package of economic cooperation agreements - Lavrov

MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. Russia and Saudi Arabia have signed major economic cooperation agreements, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday summing up results of the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, of Saudi Arabia. "Our leaders met to discuss in detail the current status of and prospects for development and improvement of trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian interaction," Lavrov said, adding, "They signed a whole package of intergovernmental and inter-departmental agreements, and large-scale commercial contracts." In the words of the Russian Foreign Minister, the two sides have signed cooperation deals in a huge number of promising spheres, including not only the traditional energy sector, but also atomic energy area, joint development of outer space, as well as stepping up of contacts in the sphere of agriculture, and infrastructure projects. The signed documents are able to raise Russian-Saudi relations to a new level. "Our two leaders actively support a new initiative of the two countries’ business communities: currently Russia hosts the first joint investment forum, which is attended by dozens of Russian companies and companies from Saudi Arabia," Lavrov said, adding, "We are confident that the colossal package of documents signed on Thursday not only creates necessary legal basis for further cooperation, for its deepening, but also makes it possible to raise Russian-Saudi partnership to the qualitatively new level." The Russian foreign minister also pointed to the progress in the military and technical interaction. "Our leaders highly assessed the agreement on the setting up one more commission - the commission on military and technical cooperation, which is expected to gather for its first meeting before the end of the year," he said. In addition, the Russian minister mentioned development of energy cooperation in the multifaceted format. "Our cooperation in the energy sphere is not confined to bilateral projects," Lavrov said. "His Majesty and the Russian President reaffirmed efforts being exerted by the energy ministries within the OPEC+ format." According to the minister, the two parties agreed to boost inter-regional contacts. "The two leaders spoke in favor of closer contacts between regions of Russia and Saudi Arabia," Lavrov said, adding that taking part in the talks were heads of such Russian regions as the republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia. Read more