On Wednesday, the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the Kingdom’s investments in Iran could happen quickly, especially in the wake of the recent agreement between the two countries.
Last week, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.
The deal, brokered by China, was announced after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival Middle East powers.
“Saudi investments have an opportunity in Iran,” Al-Jadaan said in his speech during the International Financial Sector forum of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, as per news agency Anadolu. He said that he does not see “any problems launching such investments.”
“We are committed to the principles of our agreement with Iran. The leadership has made it clear that the region is stable and capable of providing people’s needs, investment and prosperity,” the official added.
“Iran is our neighbor and will remain so for hundreds of years to come. I do not see any obstacles to normalizing our relations, especially in the field of investments and economic development,” he said, as per the report.
Since the United States resumed its sanctions against Iran about seven years ago, Tehran has suffered a decline in the pace of foreign investments, which negatively affected its production of oil, natural gas and derivatives.
Pertinently, Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh’s execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric.
The kingdom also has blamed Iran for missile and drone attacks on its oil facilities in 2019 as well as attacks on tankers in Gulf waters. Iran denied the charges.
