Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen each other’s diplomatic missions within a two-month period set in an agreement signed by China in March, according to a joint statement signed by the two countries at the level of foreign ministers on Thursday in Beijing.

The statement said the two countries will continue to coordinate to consider ways to expand cooperation, including the resumption of flights and bilateral visits, as well as visa facilitation for citizens.

In a summit meeting between the two sides over more than seven years, Iranian leader Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on the mutual opening of embassies and consulates in their respective countries, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. Affairs.

“The parties stressed their readiness to remove all obstacles to the expansion of cooperation between the two countries,” the statement said. Embassies will be opened in Riyadh and Tehran, as well as consulates in Jeddah and Mashhad.

The agreement, which was a diplomatic initiative from Beijing, essentially bypasses Washington’s role in the Middle East, bringing traditional US ally Riyadh closer to archrival Tehran, according to the New York Times.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the agreement “a victory for dialogue and a victory for peace” and called it part of China’s “constructive role in promoting the proper resolution of pressing issues around the world.”

Source: Reuters, CNN, The New York Times.