TEHRAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stressed the necessity for accelerating the development of bilateral cooperation in different areas, according to a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website on Friday.
In a phone conversation on Thursday night, the two foreign ministers called for expanding Tehran-Riyadh cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment and tourism, and discussed issues of common interest.
The two sides agreed that the necessary steps to this end should be taken in proportion to the favorable progress of the bilateral political relations in view of the recent meeting between the Iranian foreign minister and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Jeddah in August, the statement said.
They also decided that bilateral cultural and sports cooperation should be promoted as such collaborations will improve the friendship between the two peoples, added the statement.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached in China's Beijing a groundbreaking agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within two months. On April 6, the two countries officially announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.
