The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, Dmytro Kuleba and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, agreed to resume political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries in online mode.
The two diplomats discussed this during a phone conversation on Monday, the Foreign Ministry's press service reported.
“Dmytro Kuleba proposed, for the first time in 11 years, to restore online political consultations between the foreign ministries of Ukraine and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud welcomed the proposal and agreed to begin preparations for the consultations,” the statement reads.
The parties paid special attention to the development of trade and investment between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia. According to H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, economic interaction between the two countries has great potential.
The interlocutors noted that they expect positive consequences from visa-free regime introduced for citizens of Saudi Arabia when visiting Ukraine in order to expand business, cultural and human ties between the two friendly countries. They also discussed possible steps to further simplify the procedure for entering KSA for certain categories of Ukrainian citizens.
The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia responded favourably to the invitation by the Ukrainian minister to visit our state.
Kuleba also confirmed the invitation by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Ukraine and received assurances that the proposal would be considered after the current quarantine restrictions over the
COVID-19 pandemic were lifted.
As a reminder, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of Ukraine's important partners in the Gulf region. The total volume of trade in goods with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019 amounted to almost USD 920 million.
The parties seek to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the aviation and agro-industrial spheres.
On September 28, 2019, the Government of Saudi Arabia introduced multiple tourist visas for citizens of 49 countries, including Ukraine. On August 1, 2020, Ukraine introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.