The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has stressed the depth of relations with the European Union and the continuation of cooperation and partnership between them so as to enhance these relations in all fields. The kingdom reiterated the importance of the relationship between the Shura Council and the European Parliament that forms the foundations of dialogue between the two sides in light of international and regional developments witnessed by the world based on the kingdom's distinctive relations with the European countries as units and with the European Union as a group. This came in a speech by Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and head of the Saudi Mission to the European Union Ambassador Abdulrahman bin Suleiman Al-Ahmad before the mission of relations with the Arabian Peninsula at the European Parliament recently. The speech underlined the convergence of views between the kingdom and the EU in many core issue such as the achievement of peace in the Middle East, the fight against terrorism, and supporting international development programs. He explained that the EU is the first trade partner of the kingdom as bilateral trade volume reached 64 billion euros. On the situation in the region, Ambassador Al-Ahmad reiterated the kingdom's assertion that the issue of Palestine is the core issue in the Middle East and that a comprehensive, just and lasting peace can only be achieved with the complete withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem in accordance with the Arab peace initiative and relevant resolutions of international legitimacy. The Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg said, "The attacks on the Saudi missions in Iran drew wide condemnation from countries around the world and from regional and international organizations, including the UN Security Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He added, "The history of Iran is full of negative and aggressive interventions in the affairs of Arab countries including what are seeing in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria where it directly intervened through the Revolutionary Guards and Shiite militias from Lebanon and the world; the arrest of Iran-affiliated cells that smuggled explosives and weapons to Bahrain and Kuwait; the occupation of the three UAE islands; the Iranian regime's smuggling of weapons and explosives and planting terrorist cells in the region including the kingdom; and support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi militia in Yemen and Hijaz Hezbollah with money, training and weapons..." --More
