Saudi oil minister visits Iraq, calls for economic cooperation
BAGHDAD: Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih made a high profile visit to Iraq during the weekend, calling for increased economic cooperation and praising existing coordination to boost crude oil prices.
In a speech at the opening of the Baghdad International Exhibition, Falih said cooperation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia contributed to “the improvement and stability we are seeing in the oil market”.
Falih is the first Saudi official to make a public speech in Baghdad for decades. The two countries began taking steps towards detente in 2015 after 25 years of troubled relations starting with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Tension remained high after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam Hussein. The American occupation of Iraq empowered political parties representing Iraq’s Shi‘ite majority, close to Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran.
With a thaw in relations, Falih said a joint committee is “working on measures to speed up the establishment of an economic partnership and to reactivate cooperation and economic complementarity”.
Iraq is seeking economic benefits from closer ties with Riyadh while Saudi Arabia hopes a stronger relationship with Baghdad would help rollback Iran’s influence in the region.
Iraq lies on the fault line between Shi‘ite Muslim power Iran and the Sunni-ruled countries that are its regional arch-rivals, chief among them Saudi Arabia.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-
The best example of the importance of cooperation between our two countries is the improvement and stability trend seen in the oil market. Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Oil Minister
Abadi left Baghdad on Saturday for a visit to Saudi Arabia, his second to the kingdom this year, his office said in a statement.
His talks with Saudi officials will focus on efforts to rebuild Iraq after the war on Islamic State and fostering economic and trade cooperation, the statement said. Abadi will visit other Middle Eastern countries after the kingdom, it said.
“The best example of the importance of cooperation between our two countries is the improvement and stability trend seen in the oil market,” said Falih, to applause from the audience of Iraqi ministers, senior officials and businessmen. — Reuters