Iraqi president discusses Gulf ties with GCC chief

RIYADH

Iraqi President Barham Salih held talks in Riyadh on Monday with Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif al-Zayani.

The talks tackled mutual cooperation, regional developments and issues of mutual concern, the GCC said in a statement issued following the meeting.

During the discussions, the Iraqi leader said he was looking forward to seeing more progress in Iraqi-Gulf relations, the statement said.

A six-nation bloc of oil-rich Arab Gulf states, the GCC is composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain Qatar.

On Sunday, Salih held talks with Saudi King Salman on bilateral relations and regional developments.

The Iraqi president started a regional tour last week that took him to Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, his first foreign tour since he assumed his office in Iraq last month.

Since the fall of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, the Gulf countries have been maintaining cautious ties with Baghdad because of its close relations with Iran.

Iraq seeks support to reconstruct the country, especially areas by the war against terrorist group between 2014 and 2017.

Under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had invaded Kuwait in 1990 before being forced out by a U.S.-led international coalition.