Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on November 7 underlined expansion of relations and cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia to stabilize the world oil market and maintain the regional stability.

In a meeting with visiting Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Bin Ibrahim al-Naimi, Khatami said stability in oil prices and cooperation among the members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a testimony to the valuable cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed hope that the talks between Iranian and Saudi oil ministers would have favorable results for the two countries as well as the region. There are major strategic interest in the region that will not be achieved unless all countries in the region cooperate with each other, he said.

Expressing satisfaction with expansion of Tehran-Riyadh ties, the Iranian head of state said the most important gains of the closer bilateral relations have been removal of misunderstanding and further familiarization between the two countries.

"We know those whose survival depends on instability in the region are not content with our rapprochement and, but we are determined, god willing to strengthen our bilatera ties, " he said.

Khatami said Iran and Saudi Arabia should endeavor to stabilize oil prices for both consumers and producers, to better plan future economic policies.

Al-Naimi also underlined the need for expansion of bilateral relations, saying fruits of the positive relations can be observed in the oil markets.

The Saudi minister is in Tehran to attend a two-day gathering on the Gulf gas resource, which was opened here on Sunday.