[Times-UK] Deborah Haynes - King Abdullah II of Jordan became the first Arab head of state Sunday to travel to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraqi officials hope that it will pave the way for greater engagement with neighboring Arab states. Since the overthrow of Saddam, a fellow Sunni Arab, Jordanian officials had worried about the prospect of a pro-Iranian Shia government in Iraq, as well as the loss of discounted oil which Saddam once provided. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, agreed to renew a 2006 deal to sell discounted oil to Jordan when he paid Amman a visit in June.
2008-08-05 08:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive