Peru opened Tuesday an embassy in Riyadh, the royal capital of Saudi Arabia, and Ambassador Eduardo Martinetti has been posted there, thus marking the official establishment of bilateral relations between Peru and the Gulf Arab Nation.
On Dec. 10, 2010, Peru and Saudi Arabia signed a protocol in New York City to open embassies in their respective capitals.
“Peru and Saudi Arabia still face a huge task in building relations, but we will try to take all avenues of improving and strengthening fields of cooperation,” Ambassador Martinetti said in his inaugural speech.
Peruvian representative said that during his diplomatic tenure he would strive to develop friendly relations and a fruitful cooperation with Saudi Arabia, arabnews.com reported.
“Our diplomatic relationship is long standing and we have now formally established our embassies. Over the past three decades our mutual political interest has allowed Peru to be close to Arab friends so as to address the issues in the Middle East.”
Extending thanks on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Obaid Madani said, “I convey Prince Saud’s congratulations on this important occasion.
“I believe the opening of Peruvian embassy today is marking the start of a new page in the important bilateral relations between our two countries, which are based on very strong foundations.” The bilateral relations will cover political, economic and cultural fields as well as tourism.
“I had the honor of representing my country in Lima to attend the Third ASPA Summit (South American-Arab Countries) that was held in October 2012. I would say that I immediately I recognized the warmth and the generosity of the people and the important political role of Peru in the region,” Saudi Arab’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said.
The opening ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Nizar Obaid Madani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Alauddin Alaskari, Deputy Foreign Minister for Protocol Affairs and a number of diplomats.
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