Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the start of Ramadan. AFP/ Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the start of Ramadan. AFP/ Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the start of Ramadan. AFP/ Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the start of Ramadan. AFP/ Reuters

Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers agree to meet soon in Ramadan phone call


Amr Mostafa
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian have agreed to meet “soon” to implement a landmark deal restoring ties, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Prince Faisal called Mr Amir Abdollahian and the pair “exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan”, the ministry said.

The top diplomats “agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon in order to pave the way for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries”, it said.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in 2016 after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy and consulate following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in the kingdom.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached an agreement in Beijing to resume diplomatic relations.

Riyadh and Tehran will reopen embassies and consulates within the next two months, under the deal brokered by China.

The agreement to resume ties comes after two years of backroom talks.

Dialogue began in early 2021 in Baghdad, the only publicly confirmed venue for the negotiations until the agreement to resume ties was announced in Beijing.

Iraq and Oman were thanked for their roles in helping reach the deal.

MATCH INFO

Everton 0

Manchester City 2 (Laporte 45 2', Jesus 90 7')

MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2

Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')

Barcelona 0

Sour%20Grapes
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The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday

AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)

Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)

Benevento v Parma (5pm)

Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)

Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)

Lazio v Spezia (5pm)

Napoli v Crotone (5pm)

Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)

Torino v Juventus (8pm)

Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

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TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Directed by: Michael Fimognari

Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo

Two stars

Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
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Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

PAKISTAN v SRI LANKA

Twenty20 International series
Thu Oct 26, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
Fri Oct 27, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
Sun Oct 29, 3rd T20I, Lahore

Tickets are available at www.q-tickets.com

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Updated: March 23, 2023, 5:17 AM