Iran finance minister meets with Saudi counterpart in Jeddah

Iran's finance minister meets with his Saudi counterpart in the kingdom's port city of Jeddah in the first such development to follow the conclusion of a détente between the countries under China's auspices.

The meeting took place on Friday between Ehsan Khandouzi and Mohammed Aljadaan on the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group’s Annual Meetings.

"The two ministers, who met for the first time in years, discussed opportunities to develop and strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran," the Saudi Gazette English-language daily reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of the multinational event in Jeddah, Khandouzi praised the reconciliation, describing the expansion of Tehran and Riyadh's economic relations as a "win-win" development, which stands to benefit the countries of the region.

"The agreement, which has taken place through friendly countries' mediation, between Iran and Saudi Arabia will increase trade and investment opportunities between the countries," he added.

Back in January, the Saudi minister announced that the kingdom would consider engaging in international trade in currencies other than the US dollar.

"There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” AlJadaan said at the time.

The Islamic Republic has similarly been advocating the use of local currencies in bilateral economic transactions with friendly countries.

MG