Al-Zaidi to visit Saudi Arabia next week to sign a package of security and economic agreements

Baghdad – Agencies: Iraqi sources stated that Prime Minister Ali al-Allawi will travel to Saudi Arabia next week, following the postponement of the visit due to strikes targeting sites belonging to Iran-aligned militias in response to attempts to target Saudi oil facilities. A diplomatic source in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news website yesterday that “al-Allawi will visit Saudi Arabia at the beginning of next week, and official communication channels between Baghdad and Riyadh have not been severed throughout the past days, despite the postponement of the visit, which was previously scheduled.” He added that the Iraqi government “views Saudi Arabia as a key partner in its foreign policy, in line with Baghdad’s orientation to strengthen its relations with its Arab and regional neighborhood, particularly on political, economic, and security files.” The source confirmed that the visit will see the signing of a package of bilateral agreements covering security, economic, energy, and investment cooperation, as well as other files of mutual interest, reflecting both sides’ desire to expand the horizons of their cooperation. He pointed out that “the Saudi side has informed the Iraqi Prime Minister that it will present evidence and documents related to the launch of military operations targeting the Kingdom from within Iraqi territory, a file that will be at the forefront of bilateral discussions.” He clarified that al-Allawi will emphasize during his talks in Riyadh Iraq’s rejection of the use of its territory as a launching pad for any aggression against neighboring countries, while stressing Baghdad’s commitment to protecting its sovereignty and preventing the exploitation of its land to harm the security of other states, and rejecting Iraq being drawn into regional conflicts. He considered that “the visit represents an opportunity to reaffirm the strength of Iraqi-Saudi relations and to explore mechanisms for developing joint cooperation that serves mutual interests and contributes to supporting regional stability and containing tensions.”