Iraq and Saudi Arabia are setting up a coordination council to upgrade strategic ties, a joint statement said on Tuesday, as part of an attempt to heal troubled relations between the Arab neighbors.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Saudi King Salman a day earlier on the first leg of a Middle East tour that will also include Iran and Kuwait, Reuters reported.
“The countries agreed to establish a coordination council to upgrade relations to the hoped for strategic level and open new horizons for cooperation in different fields,” said the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
It said the two countries had achieved a “quantum leap” in bilateral relations and stressed the importance of further official visits.
Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Baghdad in 2015 following a 25-year break and in February Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir visited Baghdad.
That has been seen as heralding closer cooperation against the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group, which controls territory in Iraq and in Syria, and has claimed bombings in Saudi Arabia.
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