LONDON, March 18: The Vatican and the Saudi Kingdom are holding secret talks on lifting the age-old ban on building churches in Saudi Arabia, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted one of Pope Benedict’s most senior Middle East representatives, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hashem, as saying: “Discussions are under way to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom. We cannot forecast the outcome.”

There are said to be around three or four million Christians in Saudi Arabia.

At the Vatican, the Pope’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said: “If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions.”

The opening last Friday of the first church in Qatar left Saudi Arabia as the only country in the region that still bans the building of churches and all forms of open Christian worship.

Diplomats in Rome said talks on the building of churches would be consistent with recent developments.

Saudi Arabia is among the few countries that do not have diplomatic links with the Vatican, but sources in Rome say the Saudis are keen to establish formal relations.

In Qatar last Saturday, some 15,000 people attended an inaugural mass at the country’s first church. Our Lady of the Rosary in Doha is one of five Christian places of worship planned in the state.

Addressing the reciprocity issue, Qatar’s deputy prime minister, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, said: “We are enjoying the construction of mosques and Islamic centres in the West, so we must be fair (to Christians).”

The Pope is expected later this year to meet representatives of 138 Muslim scholars who wrote a letter to Christian leaders last October calling for peace between the two religions.