RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a “dialogue partner”, state media reported on Wednesday, the latest indication of closer political ties with China.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 as a political, economic and security organisation to rival Western institutions. Besides China, its eight members include India, Pakistan and Russia, as well as four central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The cabinet approved the decision at a meeting on Tuesday chaired by King Salman, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The move would grant Riyadh “the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”, it said.
Other countries with either observer or dialogue partner status include Egypt, Iran and Qatar.
Riyadh’s move to partner with the bloc comes less than three weeks after the unveiling of a landmark China-brokered reconciliation deal with Iran to restore full diplomatic relations that were severed seven years ago.
Riyadh has said that while it had engaged in previous rounds of bilateral talks with Tehran, the reconciliation process was jump-started by President Xi Jinping’s offer last year to serve as a “bridge” between the two Middle East heavyweights.
Xi’s role in the rapprochement raised eyebrows given Saudi Arabia’s traditionally close partnership with Washington.
Xi, in a phone call on Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lauded what he called the easing of tensions in the Middle East.
The two leaders stressed the importance of strategic ties between Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and economic powerhouse China, a main trade partner of Gulf states, it added.
Xi said the two countries will firmly support each other on issues involving their respective core interests, and make more contributions to promote peace, stability and development in the Middle East, state media reported.
Earlier this week, oil giant Saudi Aramco raised its multi-billion dollar investment in China with two deals that are the biggest to be announced since Xi visited the kingdom in December, where he attended a summit with Gulf Arab leaders.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran are expected to meet during the ongoing month of Ramadhan after Riyadh and Tehran agreed, following talks in Beijing.— Agencies
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