In a bid to pave the way for the reopening of Iran’s embassy in the Saudi capital, an Iranian technical delegation arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said.

The Iranian delegation will “take the necessary measures” to facilitate the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh, as well as the Iranian consulate and mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, the semi-official Tasnim news agency cited Nasser Kanani as saying.

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“Efforts will be made to reopen and activate our country’s representative offices in Saudi Arabia before the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage this year,” he said. Hajj 2023 begins on June 26.

Kanani added that the Saudi delegation that was in Tehran on Saturday to discuss reopening the Kingdom’s diplomatic missions in Iran will be leaving for Mashhad on Thursday to discuss reopening the Saudi consulate there.

This comes after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced last month that they had reached an agreement, brokered by China, to reestablish diplomatic relations.

Under the deal, the two countries have committed to reopening their embassies and missions within two months, as well as implementing security and economic cooperation agreements that were signed over 20 years ago.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 following an attack by supporters of the Iranian regime on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting in Beijing on April 6, marking the first such meeting in over seven years.

During the meeting, “the two sides emphasized the importance of following up on the implementation of the Beijing Agreement and its activation in a way that expands mutual trust and the fields of cooperation and helps create security, stability and prosperity in the region,” according to a joint statement.