Kuwaiti deputy PM in Iraq to boost ties

The Kuwaiti deputy prime minister arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday for an official visit aiming to boost cooperation and bilateral ties, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, also Kuwait's foreign minister and state minister for cabinet affairs, is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top Iraqi officials to discuss ways of enhancing mutual cooperation and promoting bilateral relations at all levels and areas, the official said.
Kuwait, a close ally of the Untied States, has been making progress in mending ties with Iraq since 1990, when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded his southern neighbor and set off the first Gulf war.
The thaw in relations between the two countries has picked up momentum since 2012, reflecting their political will to end differences.
The visit came a week after the Iraqi premier's official visit to Kuwait, which also came just a few days after Kuwait responded positively to Iraq's request to postpone the last payment of the war reparation due to financial difficulties, as Iraq is facing the threat from the Islamic State extremist group and plummeting oil prices on the world markets.
Iraq continues to pay off billions of U.S. dollars of war reparations to Kuwait, which is expected to complete by 2016.