Pacts boost KSA-Russia relations

ST. PETERSBURG: Saudi Arabia and Russia on Thursday signed a number of strategic military, nuclear and oil agreements.
The agreements were inked on the sidelines of a historic meeting between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has accepted Putin’s invitation to visit Russia. This was disclosed by Prince Mohammed during his meeting with Putin.
“King Salman has confirmed that he has accepted the president’s invitation to visit Russia,” said the prince.
On behalf of the king, Prince Mohammed extended an invitation to Putin to visit Saudi Arabia.
The Russian president said he would be happy to visit the country. “I remember the warm reception I received in Saudi Arabia,” Putin said.
Prince Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia considered Russia an important partner and recalled that the Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the Kingdom in 1926.
Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia and Russia signed a military pact and an agreement to cooperate in using nuclear energy for peaceful ends.
According to Russian news agencies, the agreement creates a legal basis for cooperation between the two countries in the field of nuclear energy in a wide range of areas, including building nuclear energy reactors and providing services in the nuclear fuel cycle, for nuclear power stations and research reactors, among other things. The agreement includes handling spent fuel and radioactive waste, and the production of radioactive isotopes and their application in industry, medicine and agriculture. It also concerns the training of staff.
The agreement was signed as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) President Hashim Yamani and Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom Director Sergey Kiriyenko signed the document on behalf of their governments.
Saudi and Russian oil ministers also signed a broad-based cooperation agreement.
The deputy crown prince’s visit was successful by all means, as is reflected in a number of agreements signed between the two sides. This will open the door wide open to further boosting cooperation between the two oil giants.
The high-profile delegation accompanying the deputy crown prince includes a number of businessmen as well as senior military and economic officials.