Beijing, 6 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese and Saudi Arabian state media reported, marking another sign of a diplomatic rapprochement between the two regional rivals.

The meeting between Iran's Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Arabia's Faisal bin Farhan was the first time the top envoys of the two countries met in more than seven years.

In a deal brokered by China, Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia agreed last month to restore ties and reopen embassies within two months after years of hostility.

Both countries vie for political and military influence in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is Islam's birthplace.

In a step toward lowering tensions, a meeting of the foreign ministers was planned, although the talks in Beijing on Thursday had not been formally announced.

At the end of their Beijing talks, the two officials signed a joint statement pledging to reopen their countries’ diplomatic missions within the agreed period, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported.

They said they would go ahead with the necessary measures to reopen embassies and consulates in each other’s countries, and facilitate granting entry visas for their citizens.  

The statement said both countries would seek to enhance their cooperation also by resuming flights and exchanging visits by official and business delegations.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran on Thursday invited each other to visit Riyadh and Tehran to hold further talks, according to the statement.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently said he received an invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman to visit the monarchy.

Both sides also agreed to implement a 2001 security pact and a wider cooperation accord signed in 1998.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran following an attack by Iranian Islamists on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in 2016.

Both countries have faced off in regional proxy conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and Iran pledged to cooperate on regional stability and security, SPA quoted the statement as saying without elaborating.