Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah starts a visit to Iran on Sunday.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah starts a visit to Iran on Sunday, in the latest sign of improved ties between the Islamic republic and Gulf Arab neighbors since President Hasan Rouhani took office last year.

The emir will be accompanied by Kuwait’s ministers for foreign affairs, finance, oil and trade during the two-day visit, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

He is the second ruler in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council to visit Iran since Rouhani took office in August. The first was Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said of Oman.

The visit comes after Saudi Arabia, the GCC’s biggest country, said last month it was ready to engage in talks with Iran to achieve regional stability.

 “The GCC states and Iran have to acknowledge the influence of each other,” Sami al-Faraj, head of Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies, said in a phone interview.

“We are not against Iran’s influence in the region if it’s constructive.”