Government | Sunday 15 January, 2017 10:32 am |

King Salman will hold talks with King Felipe VI of Spain here on Sunday.
“The talks will focus on a range of topics of mutual interest including key issues and challenges facing the Middle East region,” said Spanish Ambassador Joaquin Perez-Villanueva on Saturday.
King Felipe, who arrived here Saturday night on a three-day state visit in response to an invitation extended by King Salman, will also meet with several high-ranking Saudi officials to discuss ways and means to further strengthen ties and build strong and robust relationship between the two countries, he added.
He said that King Salman would host a banquet in honor of the Spanish king on Sunday.
The envoy said that King Felipe had no program on Saturday night except a private dinner.
The Spanish king will also participate in a Saudi-Spanish business meeting at the Council of Saudi Chambers on Monday.
He is expected to meet Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, minister of defense, during his stay in Riyadh.
The diplomat said that the king’s visit to Saudi Arabia is mainly intended to exchange notes on subjects of mutual interest and key regional issues, and drum up support for consolidating economic relations.
Saudi Arabia and Spain are also near to finalizing a $2.1 billion deal that will see Spain sell five warships to Riyadh, according to an AFP report.
Felipe, whose father and predecessor Juan Carlos was close to the Saudi royal family, was invited last year by King Salman. This is the first visit of King Felipe, who is the head of Spanish state and commander-in-chief of Spanish armed forces.
His role also involves diplomatic tour of foreign allies to promote Spanish interests especially in the domain of politics and economy. King Felipe is accompanied by a high-level business delegation, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Alfonso Dastis, Minister of Public Works Inigo de la Serna, Deputy Minister of Defense Agustin Conde Bajen and top Spanish officials.
Saudi Arabia and Spain are close business allies. Spain is also involved in building high-speed rail line between the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Major Spanish companies like Talgo, OHL, Adif and RENFE formed a consortium and won the railway project in 2011.
The volume of trade between the two countries is expected to witness growth. Saudi Arabia is reportedly Spain’s third largest Arab partner and ranked 12th among the exporter countries to Spain from outside the European Union (EU) countries.