On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed 5 agreements in several areas during the first visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to the Kingdom since he assumed his duties in May of last year.

In addition to signing the agreements, the two sides held talks on several political, economic and security files, including the activation of commercial land transport between the two countries.

Al-Kazemi arrived in Riyadh on an official visit at the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The media office of the Iraqi prime minister said that Mustafa Al-Kazemi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired an expanded Iraqi-Saudi meeting in Riyadh.

The office added - in a statement - that the meeting discussed a number of files in the fields of economy, oil, electricity, agriculture and investment, as 5 agreements were signed in several fields.

It was also stressed the importance of continuing discussions between officials of the two countries in a number of important files, and coordinating joint efforts within the framework of the Iraqi-Saudi Coordination Council.

The Saudi crown prince (right) and the Iraqi prime minister in Diriyah (Reuters)

Return to the Arab bosom

On the sidelines of the Saudi-Iraqi talks in Riyadh, Saudi Information Minister Majid Al-Qasabi said that Iraq should return to the Arab embrace.

Al-Qasabi explained that there is a directive to enhance investments and communicate with Iraq.

Prior to his departure from Baghdad, the Iraqi Prime Minister said through his Twitter account, "Today we are heading to sisterly Saudi Arabia for an official visit aimed at consolidating the distinguished relations between the two brotherly countries."

Al-Kazemi was supposed to visit Saudi Arabia on July 20;

However, the visit was postponed at the time due to a health emergency that King Salman was exposed to.

Saudi Arabia resumed diplomatic relations with Iraq in December 2015, after 25 years of being cut short by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

After decades of tension, relations began to improve, following a visit to Baghdad on February 25, 2017, by the then Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir.