Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan, the highest ranking Iraqi to make an official visit to Egypt since the 1991 Gulf War, arrived on Tuesday in Cairo for talks on enhancing bilateral talks between the two countries, reported AFP.
Ramadan, accompanied by the ministers of trade, transport and agriculture, is expected to sign a free trade agreement between Egypt and Iraq, and to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said AFP.
Baghdad broke off diplomatic ties with Cairo after Egypt joined a US-led coalition which evicted Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War.
On November 7, the two countries announced the effective resumption of relations.
Iraq's second-in-command, Ezzat Ibrahim, traveled to Cairo last October but it was to represent his country at the emergency Arab summit. He met with Mubarak on the summit sidelines.
In November, Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz became the first Iraqi official to fly abroad, to Syria, followed by Ramadan who visited India. The initiatives came after dozens of planes landed in Baghdad in a show of solidarity with Iraq.
Diplomatic relations between Cairo and Baghdad became stronger in December after Egypt sent several humanitarian flights to Baghdad.
Deals concluded between Iraq and Egypt under the UN oil-for-food program have so far reached about $170 million, said the Middle East times in an article published last week. Cairo expects to win more business from Iraq, said the report.
Officials, quoted by the weekly newspaper, said that Egypt, which has called for an end to the sanctions imposed on Baghda, was keen to show Washington and Arab states that it is motivated by economic and humanitarian reasons rather than by its support for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- Albawaba.com
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