Saudi oil minister makes high profile Iraq visit, calls for economic cooperation
Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih made a high profile visit to Iraq on Saturday, calling for increased economic cooperation and praising existing coordination to boost crude oil prices.
In a speech at the opening of the Baghdad International Exhibition, Falih said cooperation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia contributed to "the improvement and stability we are seeing in the oil market"
Falih is the first Saudi official to make a public speech in Baghdad for decades. The two countries began taking steps towards detente in 2015 after 25 years of troubled relations starting with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Tension remained high after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam Hussein. The American occupation of Iraq empowered political parties representing Iraq's Shi'ite majority, close to Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran. With a thaw in relations, Falih said a joint committee is "working on measures to speed up the establishment of an economic partnership and to reactivate cooperation and economic complementarity."
