SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed five agreements on Wednesday during a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to Riyadh, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel reported.
Kadhimi arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday afternoon and was welcomed by Prince Crown Mohammed bin Salman.
Both leaders discussed a number of fields including economy, oil, electricity, agricultural and investment, according to Kadhimi’s office.
The five agreements covered financial, commercial, economic, cultural and media fields, according to Al-Arabiya TV.
Kadhimi’s office said in a tweet that the prime minister had signed a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported that Saudi Arabia and Iraq were keen to accelerate the restoration of balance to oil markets by committing to the implementation of the OPEC+ agreement.
“The two countries cooperate through their partnership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as well as in the OPEC+ group, in order to stabilize the oil markets, and together they are keen to accelerate the restoration of balance to the markets by committing to the implementation of the OPEC Plus+ agreement,” SPA said.
Kadhimi planned to visit Saudi Arabia in July, but it was postponed after the hospitalization of King Salman.
In November, Iraq and Saudi Arabia also reopened the Arar border crossing for trade exchange. Arar has been closed since 1990 after the two countries cut ties following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
The Saudi-Iraqi rapprochement extends back to 2015, when Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Baghdad following a 25-year break.
In July Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed investment agreements on energy and sports.
