RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held talks with Belgian Crown Prince Philippe on a range of bilateral and regional issues here on Saturday.
The talks, attended by several senior Saudi and Belgian officials including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his Belgian counterpart Yves Leterme, focused on King Abdullah’s initiative of global interfaith dialogue, the Middle East peace process, energy and business ties. “We had a keen interest in King Abdullah’s initiative to bring together three most important religions — Islam, Christianity and Judaism,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Leterme at a reception hosted by the Belgian Embassy.
“We had very fruitful meetings with high-ranking Saudi officials,” he said, while referring to Prince Philippe’s meetings with the king, Deputy Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza, and Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.
“We discussed precisely the volatility of oil prices and about the diversification of energy supplies in Europe. Several regional issues were also taken up during discussions,” he added.“We also made an assessment of our bilateral relations, which are very good,” said Leterman, referring to the talks. He added that he would hold another meeting with Prince Saud on Sunday to discuss many other subjects of common concern including the Middle East peace process, Iran and Iraq.
Asked about issues discussed in meetings with the Saudi ministers of health and commerce, Belgian Ambassador Michel Lastscheno said, “We were keen to boost cooperation and offer services to help the development of economic, political and cultural relations between Belgium and the Kingdom.”
As part of a new broader vision of bilateral relationship, Saudi Arabia and Belgium would also sign several agreements during the ongoing visit of the prince. Prince Philippe arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday on a five-day visit. He is leading a large 250-member delegation of businessmen and officials to boost economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
