Saudi foreign minister meets counterparts in Munich

Prince Faisal bin Farhan hold talks with with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra in Munich. (Supplied)
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Updated 19 February 2023
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Saudi foreign minister meets counterparts in Munich

  • Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his counterparts from Austria and Pakistan and reviewed bilateral relations

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.

The two men reviewed Saudi-Dutch relations and ways to support and enhance them, as well as discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and international efforts to resolve the crisis, in addition to a number of issues affecting the regional and international arenas.

Prince Faisal also held talks with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. They discussed ways to enhance dialogue between their two countries on issues of common concern, and touched on the issues discussed at the conference and the importance of multilateral action to achieve international peace and security.

The Saudi foreign minister then held talks with German Chancellery Foreign and Security Policy Adviser Jens Ploetner, where the two sides reviewed the strong relations between the Kingdom and Germany and ways to enhance and support them in all areas of cooperation and joint coordination.

They also discussed strengthening efforts to establish the foundations of regional and international peace made by the two countries.

The foreign minister also met with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and reviewed Saudi-Pakistani relations.

Prince Faisal also held separate talks with senior officials from German luxury vehicle company BMW and Italian aerospace, defense and security company Leonardo, where they talked about the importance of security and stability in supporting the sustainable development goals and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.


Transport minister oversees operations as King Khalid Airport resumes service

Updated 21 December 2025
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Transport minister oversees operations as King Khalid Airport resumes service

  • Saleh Al-Jasser inspects facilities, assesses measures taken to restore passenger flow 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s minister of transport oversaw operational procedures at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday after heavy rain reportedly brought it to a near standstill on Friday.

Saleh Al-Jasser inspected the airport’s facilities and assessed measures taken to restore smooth passenger flow, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He also received a technical briefing at the operations center from Raed Al-Idrissi, the CEO of Matarat Holding, on airport operations and flight punctuality, and the implementation of Passenger Rights Protection Regulations.

He ordered the necessary reviews to ensure sustained operational discipline under all conditions.

Al-Jasser was accompanied by the General Authority of Civil Aviation’s President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej; Ayman AboAbah, the CEO of Riyadh Airports Company; and several senior officials from the airport.

Thousands of passengers traveling to and from the airport were left stranded on Friday due to a slew of cancellations and delays.

Saudia and flyadeal were among the aviation firms who faced difficulties, with the two airlines blaming temporary operational challenges for the issues.

A statement from the airport on its official X account had urged travelers to contact airlines directly before heading to the aviation hub to verify the updated status and timing of their flights.

The statement said: “King Khalid International Airport would like to inform you that, due to the concurrence of a number of operational factors over the past two days — including several flights diverting from other airports to King Khalid International Airport, in addition to scheduled maintenance works within the fuel supply system — this has resulted in an impact on the schedules of some flights, including the delay or cancellation of a number of flights operated by certain airlines.”

Airport sources told Arab News that the issue resulted from the heavy rain Riyadh experienced on Friday.

Water had reportedly got into the fuel tankers set to refuel jets, and several airlines then struggled to reschedule passengers.