RIYADH, 13 July 2003 — Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on judicial cooperation at the end of a visit by Iran’s judiciary chief here on Friday.
The deal provides for swapping information and expertise in judicial systems and rulings.
The memorandum also envisages coordination in the field of Islamic human rights.
The memo was signed by the Saudi and Iranian justice ministers at the close of a six-day visit to Saudi Arabia by the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi.
The visit, during which he met King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, marked the first ever judicial exchange between Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of which apply Shariah, or Islamic law.
In a meeting with Sheikh Saleh ibn Abdullah ibn Humaid of the Shoura Council last week, the chief of the Iranian judiciary called for “exerting all-out efforts by Muslim states to promote their scientific and political status.”
