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Saudi crown prince hosts Iraqi PM in first leader visit since airport attack
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi in Riyadh, in al-Zaidi’s first official visit since taking office and the first by a foreign leader since the Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport.
Hilal Times Editorial DeskUpdated:
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman received Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Wednesday. It is al-Zaidi’s first official visit to the kingdom since he took office in May.
The two sides reviewed regional developments and security coordination aimed at strengthening regional security and stability. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its support for the Iraqi government’s efforts to promote dialogue and regional stability.
Iraq: our territory will not be a launchpad
Al-Zaidi condemned the attack on King Khalid International Airport and any harm to civilians as a threat to regional security, and reiterated that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia or other countries in the region. Riyadh had said that drone attacks in July were launched from Iraqi territory.
In an opinion piece published Tuesday in Asharq Al-Awsat, al-Zaidi called for "a new phase of closer ties" between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
First foreign leader in Riyadh since the airport strike
The visit is the first by a foreign leader to Riyadh since Saturday’s Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport, which killed 13 people in what was described as the deadliest attack in the kingdom in a decade. The airport remains closed until Oct. 17, and several airlines have cancelled flights to Saudi Arabia.
Visit had been called off earlier
Al-Zaidi, who took office in May, made the Riyadh trip as part of a Gulf tour that also includes Kuwait. The visit had originally been planned for July 29 but was cancelled after a reported joint US-Saudi strike on centres of state bodies affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces in seven Iraqi provinces, in which 20 people lost their lives.
Saudi Arabia had said that attacks on the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions were carried out with drones launched from Iraq. The Iraqi government later announced that its investigation found the attacks had been launched from Maysan province in the south of the country.
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