The Russian envoy was addressing reporters in Riyadh on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, on April 12, 1961. "We regard Saudi Arabia as one of the major partners in space cooperation, because the Kingdom became the first country to be directly engaged in space exploration," Ozerov said, recalling Prince Sultan Bin Salman's performance in 1985 when he circumnavigated the Earth and became the first Arab and Muslim to travel into space. Considering the economic potential of Saudi Arabia and the Russian technologies, the ambassador said the combination would make a promising and fruitful cooperation between the two countries. Ozerov said arrangements are being made by the two countries to sign the Intergovernmental Agreements on Cooperation in the Development and Use of Outer Space For Peaceful Purposes and the Development and Sharing of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) . He said that the Kingdom will become a leading space power in the Arab world. "I would like to assure that on its part, Russia will be glad to contribute to this sector in every field," he said.
