He stated that the two countries have fruitful cooperation in various fields and relations that are deeply rooted in history as the Soviet Union was the first country to recognize King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman as the Sultan of Najd and Hejaz in February 16, 1926. Ambassador Al-Rassi said that the Deputy Crown Prince's talks with the Russian president and other senior Russian officials will include a number of regional and international issues and will focus on bilateral cooperation issues and prospects for enhancing them as well as strengthening the partnership between the two countries in addition to establishing specific initiatives to develop cooperation in various fields, creating a structure for institutional bilateral dialogue, scheduling continuously mutual visits, activating institutions such as the joint committees and the Saudi-Russian Business Council, and creating mechanisms that can contribute to finding and benefiting from opportunities, which can open up new horizons for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation. Ambassador Al-Rassi expressed hope for consolidation of the roots of cultural and knowledge exchange, including openness of the centers of research and studies, the media and other institutions in the kingdom to their counterparts on the Russian side so as to enhance Saudi-Russian relations and cooperation in various fields. --SPA 00:12 LOCAL TIME 21:12 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w