Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed on Monday two memoranda of understanding in the health and investment fields during a meeting of the two countries' coordination council aimed at boosting bilateral relations, local news outlets have reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2020) Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed on Monday two memoranda of understanding in the health and investment fields during a meeting of the two countries' coordination council aimed at boosting bilateral relations, local news outlets have reported.
A delegation of Iraqi officials, chaired by Finance Minister Ali Allawi, arrived for a working visit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi was expected to arrive the following day, but his visit was eventually postponed due to the urgent hospitalization of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud early on Monday.
The first agreement has been concluded between the two parties in the medical field to confront the global COVID-19 pandemic, and another one � between the Riyadh-based Saudi Fund for Development and the Iraqi Ministry of Finance to offer loans for some development and investment projects, according to media reports.
The accord on cooperation in the health sphere includes the provision of medical assistance to Iraq in line with orders issued by the king of Saudi Arabia, Al Ekhbariya news channel reported.
The council has also discussed the development stage of the Jadida Arar border crossing that is to set to link the kingdom's north with Iraq. The two states' authorities plan to open it after verifying that all necessary requirements have been met.
The Saudi-Iraqi coordination council reaffirmed its desire to enhance bilateral ties between the two sides, as well as to strengthen the means of cooperation in all fields.
Since 1990, the border crossing had been officially closed when relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq escalated following the intervention of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in another Gulf state of Kuwait. It was partially reopened in August 2017.
