Abu dhabi, Iraq restore diplomatic relations

The United Arab Emirates and Iraq have restored diplomatic relations after a ten-year break up following the 1990 Gulf war.

The Iraqi flag was hoisted, Monday at an official ceremony, over Iraq's provisional embassy in Abu Dhabi, marking the resumption of relations between the two countries, Iraqi charge d'affaires, Abdel Razzek Hammoudi Ahmed told the press.

"Hoisting the Iraqi flag means formal resumption of relations between the two brotherly countries," he noted. "It is a step towards cooperation between the two countries in all fields," said the Iraqi diplomat who handed on June 24 his credentials to the UAE authorities. The United Arab Emirates reopened last April 20 its embassy in Baghdad.