Saudi king invites Abadi for joint “coordination” meeting next week
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 19, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz invited Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to visit the kingdom early next week, Abadi’s media office said in a statement.
King Salman made a phone call with Abadi on Thursday, inviting him to attend the first “bilateral coordination meeting”. Both countries signed an agreement in June for the establishment of a “coordinating council” to boost ties.
Relations between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and the Shia-dominated Iraqi government have been tensional over the past few years due to Saudi Arabia’s opposition to the involvement of Iraqi Shia paramilitary forces in the fight against Islamic State. Saudi Arabia has always been irritated by the influence of Shia Iran, its arch regional enemy, over Iraqi politics. But the past months have seen an obvious rapprochement between both countries, with top-level officials exchanging visits and expressing eagerness to boost political, security and economic cooperation.
On Wednesday, Iraqi army chief of staff, Othman al-Ghanimi, arrived in Saudi Arabia for a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Abdulrahman bin Saleh, the first visit of its kind in decades. The visit tackled border security and counter-terrorism coordination.