RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed here on Monday co-signing of the cooperation charter and exchanging of agreements between the two governments, in the presence of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense.

Along with the high-level strategic Saudi-Russian Joint Committee cooperation charter, 20 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) was signed between officials from the two countries on Monday, during the Saudi-Russian Forum.

Putin discussed with the Saudi Monarch and the Crown Prince positive developments in Saudi-Russian relations. Putin also met the Crown Prince separately with both leaders expressing their commitment to cooperation between the two countries.

Russia is committed to developing bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia, which have been ongoing for the past 90 years, said Putin, who added that Saudi-Russian cooperation is important to ensure stability in the Middle East.

King Salman said that Putin's visit was a “big opportunity” to strengthen the friendship between the two countries. Deals between Russia and Saudi Arabia will have positive outcomes, especially in the energy sector, he added.

During his meeting, Crown Prince Muhammad said that cooperation between the Kingdom and Russia in the energy sector would achieve stability, while the Russian president said that Russia and Saudi Arabia are cooperating to solve conflicts in the region and the world.

The two leaders also discussed Yemen, with the Crown Prince expressing his appreciation of Russia’s support of the Yemeni lands’ unity and a political solution.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman announced the signing of MoUs while Saudi and Russian officials announced both countries would cooperate in the fields of energy, space, artificial intelligence, and petrochemicals.

Prince Abdulaziz, in his speech, had pointed out that Saudi Arabia and Russia have started a new phase of cooperation and integration, in many development domains, aimed at achieving prosperity and progress, for both countries.

"In the Saudi-Russian Joint Committee, we are working together to harmonize the ambitions and strategic objectives of the Kingdom Vision 2030 with the ambitions and objectives of the strategic development plans of Russia, and as a result of this, the Saudi-Russian high-level strategic cooperation agreement are exchanged here today," he added.

Key among the deals was the agreement to bolster cooperation among the so-called OPEC+ countries — the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus 10 non-members of the group.

Monday's deal seeks to "reinforce cooperation ... and strengthen oil market stability," Prince Abdulaziz said at the signing ceremony.

Putin said, "Russia attaches particular importance to the development of friendly, and mutually beneficial ties with Saudi Arabia."

The cooperation charter among the oil producing countries was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.

Twenty agreements and MoUs were exchanged between the governments, including a joint declaration of intent between the Saudi Space Commission and the Russian State Corporation for Space Activities (Roskosmos), for cooperation in the fields of "Manned Space Flights" and "Navigation Satellite System — GLONASS", co-signed by Prince Sultan Bin Salman, chairman of Saudi Space Commission and Director General of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin.

The high-level Saudi-Russian strategic cooperation framework was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz and the Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin and Novak. Also, a cooperation protocol, in the energy field, was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz and Novak.

A draft MoU for cooperation in the cultural field was co-signed by Minister of Culture Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan and Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

A draft MoU on facilitating and organizing granting visit visas to the citizens of both countries was exchanged and co-signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

A draft MoU for health cooperation was exchanged between the two ministries of health and was co-signed by Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and Russian Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova.

An agreement was also exchanged between the Saudi government and the Russian government regarding establishing of commercial attaché offices in the two countries, co-signed by Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed and Novak.

A MoU on negotiations of agreement for promoting and protecting investments between the two countries was co-signed by Dr. Majed and Oreshkin.

A MoU on expanding Russian exports of food goods to the Kingdom was co-signed by Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhly and Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev.

A cooperation agreement between SALIC and Russian Direct Investment Fund to discuss investment opportunities in the agriculture and food sectors was co-signed by Al-Fadhly and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.

An executive program in the field communications was co-signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha and Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Konstantin Noskov.

A draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of public media was co-signed by Saudi Minister of Media Turki Bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah and Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Konstantin Noskov.

A cooperation agreement in the tourism sector was co-signed by Chairman of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) Ahmed Bin Aqeel Al-Khatib and Oreshkin.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint investments in aircraft leasing to support the development of the Russian aviation industry was co-signed by Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasir Bin Othman Al-Rumayyan and RDIF CEO Dmitriev. — SG/SPA