Iran is ready to sign a comprehensive partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia, said its Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
“Based on an idea put forth during [Mr Amirabdollahian's] meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Iran is ready to sign a comprehensive partnership agreement with the kingdom,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
Mr Amirabdollahian met his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia confirmed the meeting and said the two sides had reviewed "joint relations and ways to strengthen and develop them in all fields", state outlet Spa reported.
Riyadh did not provide any comment on the prospect of a deal with Tehran or provide further details.
During the meeting, Mr Amirabdollahian and Prince Faisal “referred to the firm resolve” of the two countries to enter a new phase in their relations, and expressed pleasure with the reopening of their embassies in Tehran and Riyadh and the exchange of ambassadors by the two countries, Tehran said.
Mr Amirabdollahian said it was necessary for Tehran and Riyadh to launch a “joint economic commission to expand their ties in different areas, especially in the trade and economic” fields.
He stressed the need to reinstate and open air and shipping routes to facilitate travelling and trade between the two countries.
According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Riyadh is willing to strengthen co-operation and put into action their proposed ideas, adding that a meeting between the countries' heads of state will accelerate the pace of co-operation.
Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the UN Abdulaziz Al Wasil and director general of the Foreign Minister's Office Abdulrahman Al Dawood also attended the meeting, the ministry said.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Iran, Abdullah Al Anazi, arrived in Tehran as his Iranian counterpart Alireza Enayati landed in Riyadh to start his duties as envoy to the kingdom.
Last month, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Mr Amirabdollahian, while King Salman extended an invitation to Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi to visit the kingdom.
The countries reopened their embassies and consulates and reinstated economic agreements signed more than 20 years ago.
Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations following China-mediated talks in April.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Crime%20Wave
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%20boxer%20Fury%20revealed%20on%20Sunday%20his%20cousin%20had%20been%20%E2%80%9Cstabbed%20in%20the%20neck%E2%80%9D%20and%20called%20on%20the%20courts%20to%20address%20the%20wave%20of%20more%20sentencing%20of%20offenders.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERico%20Burton%2C%2031%2C%20was%20found%20with%20stab%20wounds%20at%20around%203am%20on%20Sunday%20in%20Goose%20Green%2C%20Altrincham%20and%20subsequently%20died%20of%20his%20injuries.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%26nbsp%3B%E2%80%9CMy%20cousin%20was%20murdered%20last%20night%2C%20stabbed%20in%20the%20neck%20this%20is%20becoming%20ridiculous%20%E2%80%A6%20idiots%20carry%20knives.%20This%20needs%20to%20stop%2C%E2%80%9D%0D%20Fury%20said.%20%E2%80%9CAsap%2C%20UK%20government%20needs%20to%20bring%20higher%20sentencing%20for%20knife%20crime%2C%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20pandemic%20%26amp%3B%20you%20don%E2%80%99t%20know%20how%20bad%20it%20is%20until%20%5Bit%E2%80%99s%5D%201%20of%20your%20own!%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
