Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) has received a proposal from Saudi Arabia to launch three regular flights between the two countries, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash said on Sunday.
Lauding the two countries’ firm determination to expand bilateral cooperation, the Iranian minister said that on this basis, Iran and Saudi Arabia have decided to establish direct flights, according to an interview published on the website of the ministry.
He said the proposal, by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), calls for establishing three direct flights per week in addition to the Hajj flights.
Bazrpash said the Iranian authorities would make every effort to launch direct flights between the two sides as soon as possible.
Tehran and Riyadh agreed in Beijing on March 10 to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies within two months.
Then, in a meeting in Beijing on April 6, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed a joint statement, announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.
On Friday, the two ministers held a phone conversation to follow up on the progress of reopening diplomatic missions.
Iran-UAE talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his counterpart of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan have agreed to expand cooperation in various fields.
During a phone call, Iran’s Amir-Abdollahian and UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah agreed to expand cooperation in various fields, including the private sector, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.
Amir-Abdollahian said the bilateral relations are improving, and active meetings and exchanges between the two countries’ officials are underway, stressing that Iran has no limits to all-out expansion of its relations with the UAE.
Sheikh Abdullah, for his part, said promoting bilateral relations in various fields bears on the two countries’ common interests, adding there are diverse opportunities to enhance cooperation.
The top UAE diplomat said he noticed an array of regional countries have seen strengthened bilateral ties lately, including the normalisation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the development in Syria.
In early April, Iran appointed its first ambassador to UAE since 2016 amid thawing relations. The UAE reinstated its ambassador in Tehran in September, 2022.
In 2016, the UAE downgraded its relations with Iran after Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.