Saudi, Chinese foreign ministers discuss regional and international issues
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, hosted by Islamabad.
During the meeting, they reviewed the solid friendship relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China, and ways to enhance them in all areas of cooperation and joint coordination, according to the Saudi Press Agency “SPA”.
The two sides also discussed many regional and international issues of common interest, foremost of which is strengthening security and stability in the Middle East, and efforts to lay the foundations for peace made by the two friendly countries in the region and the world.
Wang Yi said that China and Saudi Arabia are good friends and good brothers who enjoy mutual trust and shared development and support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests. China appreciates Saudi Arabia’s adherence to an objective and fair position and its support for China’s legitimate claims on China-related issues. China supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and national dignity and backs its major development strategies of the “Middle East Green Initiative” and “Vision 2030”. China is willing to enhance the alignment with Saudi Arabia and create a new pattern of all-around and high-level cooperation.
Faisal said that Kingdom is proud of its close relations and high-level strategic cooperation with China and is appreciative of China’s support for its major development strategies. Saudi Arabia is ready to jointly implement the important consensus between leaders of the two countries, deepen the alignment with the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand practical cooperation in various areas to complement each other’s advantages. Saudi Arabia and China adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and support multilateralism. Both countries advocate that the international agenda should serve the interests of most countries instead of individual countries. Saudi Arabia stands ready to strengthen communication and collaboration with China so as to play a leading role in safeguarding the common interests of the international community and international fairness and justice.
As to the Ukraine issue, the two sides agreed that all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected and their reasonable security concerns should be taken seriously. It is imperative to prevent any humanitarian crisis, maintain the peace talk process and resolve conflicts through dialogue and negotiation. Both sides emphasized that all countries have the right to make independent judgements, withstand external pressure, and disagree with the simple logic of “black or white” and “friend or foe”.
