Irish beef sales to Saudi Arabia should resume once safety standards have been agreed, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday.
Mr Ahern travelled from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, yesterday to the king's country retreat for talks.
Irish beef sales to Saudi Arabia were halted after the kingdom imposed a ban in December 2000 on the importation of all European Union meat following the BSE crisis.
During the talks, the king said he could "see no reason" why imports from Ireland could not resume, once safety rules have been agreed between health inspectors from both countries.
Mr Ahern was accompanied at the meeting in the desert, which took place in the king's tent, by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin.
Plans by the Saudis to open an embassy in Dublin are well advanced, the king said, in a move that will be welcomed by Irish business people who have to get travel visas in London.
The king, who was accompanied by 25 princes of the Saudi royal family, and Mr Ahern discussed crises in the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine and the Iraq conflict. He said that US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who was in Saudi Arabia for the past two days, would be returning in a number of weeks for further talks.
The Middle East conflicts were "a great source of pain" to him, the king declared, adding that Israel "in particular" must engage in talks.
While Mr Ahern praised the contribution of Ireland's Muslim population, the king said that Muslim extremists were giving Islam a bad name.
Describing Ireland as "a great friend" of Saudi Arabia, the king said he hoped Irish universities could become involved in plans to build a new science and technology university on the Red Sea.
King Abdullah has sponsored a new scholarship programme to send thousands of young Saudis abroad for third-level education, including 300 who will come to Ireland in the next year.
