A qualitative leap has taken place in relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia in recent years, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said on Wednesday. His message was read at the opening of the Russia-Islamic World forum in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
"Saudi-Russian relations are strong and historic, they are 95 years old, and in recent years there has been a qualitative leap in relations," the Saudi press agency quoted the monarch as saying. - "This has culminated in high-level visits between the two countries, which have led to the signing of many bilateral agreements in all spheres."
"The kingdom shares several basic principles with Russia, including respect for international law, the establishment of relations based on mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence and unity of states and non-interference in internal affairs," the monarch pointed out.
"The basis of interdependence between the countries of the Islamic world and Russia is economic cooperation," the king noted. - "And for the countries of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia-Islamic World", there are favorable opportunities to create strong economic partnerships in several areas, including halal products and Islamic finance, we should invest in them and work to develop them."
"The recent challenges facing our world have shown that we are all in the same boat, and the kingdom encourages the countries of the group to strengthen cooperation among themselves to face these challenges and emerge from them with as little damage as possible so that together we can live in security," the king stressed.
The GSV Russia-Islamic World was created in 2006 after Russia joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as an observer. It includes 33 prominent statesmen and public figures from 27 countries, including former prime ministers and foreign ministers and major theologians from Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and other states.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS