Voice of America
30 Mar 2023, 09:07 GMT+10
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a 'dialogue partner,' state media reported Wednesday, the latest indication of closer political ties with China.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 as a political, economic and security organization 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 Saudi Cabinet approved the decision at a meeting 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.
Long bitter rivals, Shiite-majority Iran and mainly Sunni Saudi Arabia have engaged in a series of proxy conflicts in the region, such as the protracted fighting in Yemen.
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, though that relationship has been under strain recently because of disputes over human rights and oil production.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel played down the impact of Saudi Arabia's move, saying that it was long expected.
'Each country has its own relationships,' Patel said.
Xi, in a phone call on Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman's son and the Persian Gulf nation's de facto ruler, lauded what he called the easing of tensions in the Middle East.
In his first comments on the matter to be made public since the Saudi-Iran deal was struck, Xi said the dialogue promoted by China would 'play a major role in strengthening regional unity and cooperation.'
Get a daily dose of Kenya Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.
More InformationThe state is looking to gain more control over the country's natural resources, the Mining Ministry saysThe Namibian government is ...
New Delhi [India], June 2 (ANI): IndiGo will add six new destinations across Asia and Africa as part of its ...
© Provided by Xinhua The 21st Extraordinary Summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State, held Wednesday in ...
Sudan's warring parties clashed in the capital overnight and into Friday morning after talks aimed at maintaining a ceasefire and ...
Cape Town [South Africa], June 2 (ANI): The BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations met on 1 June ...
New Delhi [India], June 2 (ANI): Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) Mission Olympic Cell on June 1 approved ...
NEW DELHI, India: Indian federal police documents indicate that the country has filed a graft case against the UK's BAE ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland has set a record as unemployment fell to 3.8 percent in May, according to the Central Statistics ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Nielsen company said that CBS has again claimed the title of most-watched television network ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: The Government of Ireland is preparing legislation to outlaw vaping, and the sale of vaping products, to those ...
FREMONT, California: Brain implant company Neuralink announced that it has received approval from US regulators to begin human brain implant ...