King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has arrived in Russia to a lavish reception. The monarch who lead a high profile delegation to Moscow that will see multi billion dollars deals signed by the two countries.
The visit is historic as it is the first ever state visit to Russia by a reigning Saudi monarch and Russia spared no expense in welcoming the king. The King was greeted with numerous billboards lining the road emblazoned with his own image and a message welcoming him to Russia in Arabic and Russian.
The Kremlin said that King Salman will meet Vladimir Putin, the Russian President on Thursday and “the leaders will consider joint steps to further develop bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian areas.” In addition, international issues including conflicts in the Middle East are expected to form part of the discussions between Putin and the Saudi king.
They will also sign joint investment deals worth more than $3 billion on Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Financial Times on Wednesday, including a $1.1 billion agreement for Russian petrochemical firm Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.
Russia and Saudi Arabia seems to be coming closer since last year when Russia joined Saudi Arabia led OPEC to cut crude oil production over the glut in the market which led to the price of the product falling below $40 per barrel
