Riyadh, SPA :

 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud held official talks session at Al-Yamamah Palace here yesterday with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.

 At the outset of the meeting, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques delivered a speech in which he welcomed President Zuma and the accompanying delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques hailed the close ties binding the two countries and their peoples in various fields, particularly in political, economic and military fields. King Salman also said that South Africa is one of the major trading partners of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques appreciated the care given by South Africa to the region s issues, particularly its stances towards the Palestinian cause. We stressed the importance of continued cooperation and consultation on international and regional issues, particularly the reforms in the United Nations Organization and the fight against terrorism and extremism, King Salman said.

 Regarding the Syrian crisis, we hope that international efforts will resolve the crisis in accordance with Geneva I decisions. In Yemen, we hope that peace and security are achieved, and that Yemeni-Yemeni consultations sponsored by the United Nations will achieve a political solution based on UN Security Council resolution No. 2216, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said.

For his part, South Africa's President thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for the warm reception and hospitality, stressing his country's keenness on strengthening the partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and praising the depth of relations between the two friendly countries.

 Then, a talks session was held during which the two leaders reviewed means of enhancing bilateral cooperation to serve the common interests of both countries, and discussed the developments on regional and international arenas. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques decorated President of South Africa with King Abdulaziz Medal.

 Following the talks session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and President of South Africa attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on political consultations between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of South Africa.

 The MOU was co-signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana Mashabane.

The talks session and MoU signing ceremony were attended by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Cabinet Member and Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior; Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense; and a number of officials.