Riyadh, SPA:
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin witnessed here yesterday, the Saudi-Russian Energy Partnership Event, for co-signing of the cooperation charter and exchanging agreements between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.
At the outset of the event, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Energy, delivered a speech, pointing out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation 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 to be exchanged here today" he added.
"We aim, through the agreements which will be exchanged to develop many economic and development fields, which include: petroleum industry, other energy sectors, scientific research, space, justice, health services, tax administration, mineral wealth, tourism, aviation industry, cultural cooperation, strengthen trade relations and other sectors, as the relevant government agencies, such as sovereign investment funds, state-owned enterprises and the private sector, in both countries, will contribute to the great effort, in this field" he stated.
He remarked that on the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, the discussion on the proposed institutional framework has begun, in early 2015, resulted in the OPEC + agreement among the producing countries of OPEC members and outsider producers, at the end of 2016, supported by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the President of the Russian Federation and HRH Crown Prince, to form an effective partnership that supported the ability of cooperation among producing countries, to enhance the stability of the oil market.
After that, a cooperation charter among the oil producing countries was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.
Furthermore, as many as 20 agreements and memorandum of understanding were exchanged between the Governments of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, including a joint declaration of intent between the Saudi Space Commission, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 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 bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission and by Director General of the Russian State Corporation for Space Activities (Roskosmos) Dmitry Rogozin.
The high-level Saudi-Russian strategic cooperation framework was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy and the Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.
A cooperation protocol, in the energy field, was co-signed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.
A draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the cultural field was co-signed by Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture and Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.
A draft memorandum of understanding 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 memorandum of understanding 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 Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Russian Federation, regarding establishing a commercial attaché offices, between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Russian Federation, in the two countries, co-signed by Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on negotiations of agreement for promoting and protecting investments between the two countries was co-signed by Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and Russian Minister of Development Maxim Oreshkin.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on expanding the Russian exports of food goods to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen 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-Swaha 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 the Board of Directors of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib and Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim 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 CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual investments in NefteTransService, one of the largest railway operators in Russia, was exchanged and co-signed by the Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
A program of work on the definition and adoption of standards of the Russian aircraft industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was exchanged and co-signed by President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Abdulhadi bin Ahmed Al-Mansouri and Director General of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation in the field of tax administration was exchanged and co-signed by Governor of the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) Suhail bin Mohammad Abanumi and Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Tax Service of Russia Dmitry Grigorenko.
A confirmation agreement was exchanged among the Saudi Aramco, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Rusnano to buy Rusnano's shares in Novomet company, and co-signed by CEO of Saudi Aramco Eng. Amin Al-Nasser and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
A draft of agreement for the methanol project in Russian Amur region, was exchanged and co-signed by Vice Chairman and CEO of SABIC Eng. Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between Maaden and Phos Agro Company for strategic partnerships in the field of phosphate fertilizer industry, and co-signed by Maaden CEO Darren Davis and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
In conclusion, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presented a painting reflecting "Najd Generosity" as a memorial gift to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, while the monarch received a Russian falcon as a present from President Putin to mark this occasion.
The agreements were attended by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy; Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Member of Cabinet; Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior; Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture; and Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of National Guard.
The signing ceremonies were also attended by Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, who serves as the Russian delegation's senior official guide; Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf; Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, who is also acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli; Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan; Minister of Economy and Planning, Mohammad bin Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri; Minister of Media, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah; Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib, who is also Advisor to the General Secretariat of the Cabinet; Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, who is also Chairman of Saudi Aramco's Board of Directors; Assistant Special Secretary to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Tamim bin Abdulaziz Al-Salem; Saudi Ambassador to the Russian Federation Dr. Raed bin Khalid Qarmali, and the official delegation accompanying the Russian President.