Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C-L) greets Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (C-R) upon his arrival in Tehran on Sunday.

TEHRAN: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Sunday started a landmark visit to Tehran focused on mending fences between Iran and the Gulf.

The two-day visit comes amid a thaw in ties between Tehran and the GCC since the election of Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June 2013.

Sheikh Sabah, on his first visit to Tehran as head of state, flew in at the head of a high-level delegation including the foreign, oil, finance, commerce and industry ministers.
Tehran says the visit would “open a new page” in ties between the neighbors across the Gulf.

The visit will also focus on controversial regional issues, including Iran’s military involvement in Syria, the situation in Iraq and Egypt, and the Middle East peace process, Kuwaiti officials said.

Relations between Iran and the Gulf, namely signs of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, will also be discussed during the visit, Kuwaiti foreign ministry under-secretary Khaled Al-Jarallah told Al-Hayat newspaper.

He said Kuwait, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the has balanced links with Tehran and is willing to mediate between Riyadh and Tehran.

Kuwait’s ambassador to Tehran, Majdi Al-Dhafiri, told Kuwait’s official news agency KUNA that Sheikh Sabah and Rouhani will discuss a number of “strategic projects” useful for the whole region. He did not elaborate.