ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2nd R) walks upon his arrival at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on October 4, 2017. Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin is seen on the right.
Russia is rolling out the red carpet for King Salman of Saudi Arabia this week, with the monarch leading a high-profile and highly significant delegation to Moscow that will see billions of dollars’ worth of joint investment deals.
When King Salman landed in Moscow and traveled to the center of Moscow he was greeted with numerous billboards lining the road emblazoned with his own image and a message welcoming him to Russia in Arabic and Russian. His visit is certainly historic, marking the first ever state visit to Russia by a reigning Saudi monarch.
The Kremlin said that King Salman was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and “the leaders will consider joint steps to further develop bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian areas.” In addition, international issues including conflicts in the Middle East are expected to form part of the discussions between Putin and the Saudi ruler.
The leaders are set to sign joint investment deals worth more than $3 billion on Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Financial Times on Wednesday, including a $1.1 billion agreement for Russian petrochemical firm Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.
The visit is just the latest sign of increasingly cordial relations and closer economic and political ties between the two oil giants. The countries embarked on a closer relationship last year when Russia and the 14-member oil-producing organization OPEC – with Saudi Arabia being its de factor leader – announced they would restrict oil output in a bid to support global oil prices.
