CAIRO: Egypt has appointed an ambassador to Iraq, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, its first diplomatic representative in the country since its charge d affaires was kidnapped and killed in 2005.
Sharif Kamal, who is to leave his job as to Zambia, will open the mission in the coming weeks accompanied by a diplomatic team, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement.
Zaki described Kamal as a diplomat with 27 years of experience whose appointment is an important step to promote relations between the two Arab countries.
Cairo has had no official diplomatic representative in Iraq since the July 2005 abduction and murder by Al-Qaeda of its charge d affaires in Baghdad, Ihab Al-Sharif.
In October 2008, Ahmed Aboul Gheit made the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Iraq in 18 years.
The situation in Iraq is stabilizing gradually, and the situation demands of a country such as Egypt, with interests in Iraq, to make its presence felt, Aboul Gheit said at the time.
Egyptian oil companies have said they are studying infrastructure and refining operations in Iraq. – AFP
