Riyadh has an "open channel" with Yemen's Iran-backed rebels with the goal of ending the country's civil war, a Saudi official said Wednesday, weeks after the rebels offered to halt attacks on the kingdom.

The comment comes after Saudi Arabia separately brokered a power sharing agreement between Yemen's internationally recognized government and southern separatists, which observers say could pave the way for a wider peace deal.

From tapping lenders to selling personal assets, Saudis are scrambling to raise cash to invest in Aramco stocks after the oil giant announced its blockbuster market debut even as it offered few listing details.

The long-planned initial public offering of a sliver of Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco will see shares traded on Riyadh's stock exchange in December, a Saudi-owned satellite news channel reported Tuesday as the kingdom's marquee investment forum got underway.

The report by Dubai-based Al-Arabiya offered a crackle of life to the Future Investment Initiative in the kingdom's capital of Riyadh, an event created by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Initial panels at the forum offered a pessimistic look at a world as participants described the global economy as a teetering on a 1930s-level crisis.

Saudi Arabia has appointed a new foreign minister with experience in Western capitals and loyalty to the powerful crown prince, in what observers say is a generational shift being driven by the young ruler.

Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians agreed on Thursday to establish a joint economic committee and a business council, as the Palestinian Authority faces a financing gap that could top $1.8 billion.

Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Muslim holy city of Medina, Saudi state media said on Thursday.

The accident on Wednesday involved a collision between "a private chartered bus... with a heavy vehicle (loader)" near the western Saudi Arabian city, a spokesman for Medina police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Tuesday, Saudi state media reported, two days after he visited Iran on a mission to defuse tensions between Riyadh and Tehran.

Tensions have soared in the Gulf in recent months with a series of attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers which have raised fears of a war between the arch-rivals.

Iran on Monday released pictures showing two gaping holes in the hull of an oil tanker it alleges was attacked off Saudi Arabia last week.

Top officials from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, key players in a coalition fighting Yemeni rebels, have discussed military cooperation following a positive response by Riyadh to a truce offer from the insurgents.

The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has denied a financial settlement with the government, spoke out in defence of the kingdom Tuesday ahead of the first anniversary of the killing.