Saudi economy delegation arrives in Baghdad for talks

By Amer al-Hassani

BAGHDAD (AA) - A large delegation of Saudi economy officials has arrived in Baghdad to discuss means of enhancing economic cooperation between the two OPEC member-states.

According to a Thursday statement issued by Iraq’s Trade Ministry, members of the Saudi delegation were received Wednesday evening at Baghdad’s international airport by Trade Minister Mohamed Hashim al-Ani.

“This visit confirms the Iraqi government's readiness to deal openly with its neighbors,” al-Ani was quoted as saying in the statement.

“It will also serve to empower the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq established the coordination council in 2017 as part of a rapprochement drive between Baghdad and Riyadh.

Iraq-Saudi relations were suspended after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. They were reactivated in 2006 after then Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s largest oil producer, producing some 10.2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), followed by Iraq with 4.5 million bpd.

Notably, the Saudi delegation’s visit comes only days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani paid a similar visit to Baghdad, during which he signed a raft of trade deals with Iraqi officials.