RIYADH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, which will mark his first visit to the kingdom in twelve years.
During his visit, the Russian leader is expected to meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that about 30 documents, both commercial and interdepartmental, were being prepared for signing ahead of Putin's visit. Putin is also due to attend the first meeting of the Russian-Saudi economic council.
Putin was invited to visit the kingdom back in October 2017, when King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud paid an official visit to Russia, becoming the first Saudi monarch to do so.
REGIONAL AGENDA LIKELY TO BE DISCUSSED
The Russian president's visit to Saudi Arabia comes amid escalation of regional tensions to a large extent around the standoff between Iran and the United States. A series of attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman and Hormuz Strait, as well as a drone attack against oil facilities of Saudi Arabia last month, have worsened the situation, with Washington and its allies placing the blame for the attacks on Iran. Tehran has refuted all accusations.
The damage done by missiles and drones was still quite visible at Saudi Aramco's facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq, visited by a Sputnik correspondent exactly four weeks after the attack, but Saudi Arabia is not the only country in the region whose oil infrastructure was targeted in the past weeks.
Several days ago, Iran reported two attacks with an interval of around 30 minutes on its won tanker some 60 miles from the Saudi port city of Jeddah. Reportedly a terrorist attack, the case is currently under investigation by Tehran and Riyadh.
Further north, Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish groups in northeastern Syria on Wednesday following the abrupt withdrawal of US forces in the region. The US forces had protected Kurdish elements in their self-declared Kurdish Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria following joint operations against Islamic State (banned in Russia). Turkey's offensive was condemned by Saudi Arabia, while Russia urged for dialogue between Damascus and Kurds.
Apart from regional tensions, the Russian and Saudi leaders and their respective delegations are expected to address cooperation around the OPEC+ oil output reduction deal. In December, the OPEC+ deal signatories agreed to reduce overall production by 1.2 million barrels per day in the first half 2019 to stabilize oil prices.
Apart from discussions on a wide range of international and regional issues, the visit is expected to have a rich economic agenda as Putin will be accompanied by a delegation of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign fund. The RDIF will sign 10 agreements worth over $2 billion during the visit, according to the fund's CEO Kirill Dmitriev.
"They will cover various areas, including agriculture, the railway sector, the fertilizer sector, the petrochemical sector and so on," Dmitriev told reporters last week.
During the visit, Saudi Aramco is expected to announce its first investment in Russia within the framework of partnership between the RDIF and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The sides are purchasing a 30-percent stake in Novomet, a Russian manufacturer of submersible extractive equipment.
Besides, the visit will be marked by the Russia-Saudi business forum, which will be attended by the biggest and most representative delegation from Russia in the history of bilateral relations.
The RDIF's activities in the kingdom during the highest-level visit will not be only about business deals and investment. Together with the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the fund will exhibit masterpieces of the Russian art, including 19 paintings of world-renowned Russian-born artist and pioneer of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky.
In addition to that, an international exhibition of contemporary art, created using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will be held at the King Fahd Cultural Centre, one of the largest cultural venues in the kingdom. The exhibition will bring together artists from 10 countries.
The RDIF also plans to sign an agreement with the Russian and Saudi ministries of culture.
