Baghdad — On Oct. 17, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi called on Egyptian companies to participate in oil investment contracts. He said during a meeting with the Egyptian ambassador in Baghdad, Hassan Ahmed Darwish, “It is necessary to strengthen relations between Iraq and Egypt, especially in the oil business.”

On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over the phone to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries and to unite efforts in the fight against terrorism.

Although Abadi was preoccupied with the battle of Mosul, that did not prevent him from contacting Sisi, which underlines Egypt's importance for Iraq as well as the significance of improving the Iraqi-Egyptian relationship in light of the current Saudi-Egyptian tension.

The meeting and phone call came a week after the Riyadh-Cairo relationship suffered a blow following Egypt voting in favor of the Russian project on the Syrian crisis. The fact that Iraq quickly communicated with the Egyptian government implies an Iraqi desire to rearrange its ties at the Arab level.