Iraqi PM to start Gulf trip
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi will embark on a three-day tour of neighboring Saudi Arabia today, followed by Iran tomorrow and Kuwait on Wednesday. The timing of the tour was previously set and has nothing to do with the recent developments in the Gulf region, he told reporters here on Saturday night. “Iraq’s policy is based on keeping our distance from all neighbors and non-interference in the domestic affairs of others in order to avoid polarization. We seek close neighborly ties with all neighbors and have nothing against them. “Iraq will not allow any party to use its territories for any aggressive acts against its neighbors,” the Prime Minister affirmed.
He noted that his country shares interest with other neighborly country in such areas as the combat against terrorism. “Iraq sees a stage marked by gains against terrorism for the first time since 2003,” he said referring to the liberation of large parts of Iraq from the grip of the so-called Islamic State (IS). He vowed that his government would not allow terrorists back to the country and restore stability and development nationwide thanks to the military preparedness to defeat terrorism.
During his stay in Kuwait, Abadi is scheduled to discuss a range of issues, including the compensations for Kuwait relating to the Iraqi invasion of 1990. The Kuwait leaders agreed to the repeated demands from Iraq to postpone the payment of compensations, he pointed out.
Regarding the plan to convene an international donor conference for Iraq in Kuwait in last August, he said the slump in the oil prices in the recent months forced putting off the conference. He added that his government is trying to revive the suggestion given the current financial difficulties in the country.
On the relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he said heralds of improved relations appeared in 2015 when the then Saudi foreign minister Saud Al-Faisal planned to visit Iraq and reopen the Saudi embassy here but he passed away. This will be the first visit to Saudi Arabia by an Iraqi Prime Minister since he took office in September, 2014.