ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, leading a high-level delegation with his ministers for foreign affairs, trade, oil, and electricity. His trip comes a week and a half after he visited Iraq’s eastern neighbour and Saudi rival Iran as Baghdad tries to play a mediating role in the region.
This trip to Riyadh “embodies the direction of the Iraqi government and its desire to develop ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all sectors,” Abdul-Mahdi said in a meeting with the Saudi monarch King Salman bin Abdulaziz on his arrival, according to a readout from the prime minister’s office. Expected to ink a number of agreements, the premier said they will “broaden horizons and meet the expectations of the people, security and stability for all peoples of the region.”
Speaking to reporters the night before, Abdul-Mahdi explained the regional role his government envisions for Iraq.
“We are starting with social, economic, cultural, financial issues. And maybe this will lead us to some political roles played by Iraq between different countries, with Iran, with other countries — maybe with Turkey also. Iraq wants to play such a role, and I think the others might wait for a role being played by Iraq,” he said.
رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبدالمهدي يتوجه الى المملكة العربية السعودية على رأس وفد كبير من الوزراء والنواب ورجال الاعمال. pic.twitter.com/Y7y2rhTer0
— المكتب الاعلامي لرئيس الوزراء (@IraqiPMO) April 17, 2019
He claims that his government has adopted “a certain” strategy to initially focus on issues which can be resolved in the economic sector, and then Baghdad can shift to political and harder issues.
This is Abdul-Mahdi's first trip to Riyadh as prime minister. He incorrectly announced that his first foreign trip abroad would be to Saudi Arabia in March; however, he first went to Egypt.
He met in Iran with President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei on April 4-5. Khamenei accused Riyadh of backing the Islamic State (ISIS) – a Sunni extremist group – against the Shiite-dominated government.
“Tomorrow will be the start of our visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a very important delegation,” Abdul-Mahdi told reporters, adding that signing a number of memorandums of understanding and discussing projects are on the agenda.
The visit is to display “Iraq’s way of working” with its regional neighbors, he explained. “Iraq wants to be a meeting point for everyone.”
Following last month’s Arab League Summit in Tunisia, war-torn Iraq is seeking to re-establish itself as a contributing member. Iraq is the fourth-largest oil producer in the world and second-largest behind Saudi Arabia in OPEC.
“We are witnessing a big transformation. Relations with the Kingdom are in their best conditions. I expect the visit tomorrow to be perfect,” added the PM, speaking of Saudi Arabia that forms the backbone of the Arab League.
The Arar border crossing with Saudi Arabia is “close to usage” and agreements need to be implemented between both two sides.
Iraq has been a regional battleground where conflicts have been fought for decades. Since 2003, the country has been increasingly influenced by Iran, mainly due to the rise of pro-Iran Shiite political parties and the overthrow of the Baath regime of Saddam Hussein.
Relations had broken down between the former Iraqi regime and Saudi Arabia after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991. The relations, however, are slowly being rebuilt.
Cash-strapped Iraq needs assistance from oil-rich Arab states in the Persian Gulf to rebuild the country following a nearly four-year conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS). Its backers in Iran are already suffering from the harsh US sanctions and are unable to provide the breadth of assistance Arab states and Turkey can.
Abdul-Mahdi was asked what percentage of the Iraqi economy is influenced by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
He replied: “20 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent or any other percentage. I don’t know how this ratio was measured frankly. We have relations with the Iranian state. Trade exchange is a very advanced exchange. However, [as for relations] with the Revolutionary Guard, this is something different.”
The IRGC was formed during the 1979 Revolution to protect the Islamic Republic system. However, it has become a powerful force in external and internal security and intelligence spheres.
The IRGC, which on Monday was officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, also is heavily entrenched in the Iranian economy, which is tied to its western neighbor.
Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite politician who is seen as a flexible technocrat, says he tried to persuade the Americans against the designation.
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