Iraqi premier flies to Saudi Arabia on official visit
Abdul-Mahdi is expected to sign 13 cooperation agreements with Riyadh
BAGHDAD
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi left Baghdad on Wednesday for Saudi Arabia on an official visit.
The premier was accompanied by a high-profile delegation of ministers, lawmakers
The Iraqi premier is expected to sign a host of cooperation agreements between the two neighbors during his two-day visit.
"Iraq is witnessing a major shift in its relations with Saudi Arabia," Abdul-Mahdi told his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
Iraqi-Saudi relations were suspended following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
They were restored after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but Baghdad’s continued close ties with Iran -- Riyadh’s arch-rival in the region -- served to keep relations frosty.
Iraqi-Saudi relations picked up, however, during former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s period in office from 2014 to 2018.
Writing By Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg
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