Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia yesterday described the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Kingdom as "a great opportunity to consolidate and deepen the bonds of friendship and ties between the two countries and reach a convergence of vision and political consensus."

"We appreciate Russia's active role in the region and the world," the monarch said during talks with the Russian president.

King Salman praised the great development in the Saudi-Russian relations, noting that the Kingdom is always looking forward to working with Russia in all that would bring security, stability and confront extremism and terrorism.

For his part, the Russian president said that «Russia pays special attention to the development of bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia for more than 90 years».

Putin said trade exchange between Russia and Saudi Arabia rose by 15 percent last year.

He added: «Saudi Arabia plays a pivotal role in the Group of 20», stressing that Russian and Saudi coordination is important to ensure stability in the Middle East.

He received King Salman, Putin, at the Yamama Palace in Riyadh. An official reception was held for the Russian President, where the national peace of the two countries was played.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced the signing of 20 agreements with Russia to develop many fields with Russia.

During the signing ceremony of agreements between Saudi Arabia and Russia in the presence of King Salman and President Putin, he stressed that oil will remain in the foreseeable future an essential element in the development of the world economy.

The most prominent of these agreements and memorandums of understanding: the pact of cooperation between oil-producing countries, signed by the Saudi side, the Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and the Russian side, the Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.

Signing agreements and memorandums of understanding on the exchange of agreements between the governments of the two countries, which constitute a joint declaration of intent between the Saudi Space Authority in Saudi Arabia and the State Space Corporation in Russia, to cooperate in the field of manned space flight and satellite navigation system.

In the same context, the CEO of the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, Kirill Dimitriev, said that the fund will sign 14 new agreements with a number of Saudi companies, worth deals worth more than three billion dollars.

"Our agreements will be worth more than $ 3 billion now. One company will be specialized in the oil industry and will invest in a partnership with Aramco to produce important materials for Russian companies, Aramco and many other companies around the world," said Kirill Demetriev.

The Russian official pointed out to make «final arrangements for investments with one of the largest logistics players in Russia, and we seek to invest in a large portfolio of aircraft lease».