A Saudi delegation is set to visit Iraq this week in order to prepare the ground for the reopening of the Saudi Embassy in Baghdad, 24 years after the Kingdom closed its diplomatic mission there.

Riyadh has also announced plans to set up a consulate in Erbil.

A technical committee from the Foreign Ministry will leave for Baghdad this week to coordinate with the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on the necessary arrangements for selecting appropriate buildings for both missions, said a report, published by SPA.

Osama Nugali, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not provide the exact date of the visit of the Saudi delegation.

Fayyad Al-Oraifi, a political analyst, commented: “The Saudi decision to open diplomatic missions comes after Iraq responded positively to the gestures of the Saudi leadership.”

Riyadh now needs to resolve “technical, administrative and security” issues before it can re-establish the mission and assign an ambassador, said Al-Oraifi.

Iraqi President Fouad Masoum visited Riyadh late last year, raising hopes of better relations between the two neighbors.

Saudi Arabia, which closed its embassy in Baghdad in 1990 following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, will possibly name its first post-Gulf war ambassador soon.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal announced plans to reopen the embassy in September last year.

Prince Saud’s announcement followed his wide-ranging talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari in Jeddah. Al-Jaafari described the decision as “important and necessary.”

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