Gulf | Bahrain

Bahrain names its ambassador to Iraq

Bahrain on Tuesday named Salah Al Maliki, a career diplomat, as its ambassador to Iraq, diplomatic sources told Gulf News.

  • By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 00:07 July 9, 2008
  • Gulf News

Manama: Bahrain on Tuesday named Salah Al Maliki, a career diplomat, as its ambassador to Iraq, diplomatic sources told Gulf News.

The decision to appoint an ambassador for the first time in three years is significant since the last Bahraini charge d'affaires, Hassan Malallah Al Ansari, was wounded by gunmen who attacked his car in Baghdad on July 5, 2005.

King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa last March said during a meeting with President George W. Bush in Washington D.C. that Bahrain would re-open its embassy in Baghdad and name an ambassador there.

The decision was praised by Bush as "a very strong move that indicates a willingness to lead, as well as a willingness to send a signal that when a young democracy like Iraq is beginning to make progress, it is important for the neighbourhood to recognise that progress".

Career graph

Al Maliki, 36, joined the Foreign Ministry in 1997 and served in Bahrain's diplomatic mission in New York from 1999 till 2004.

He then returned to Manama where he took up a post in the Foreign Ministry's Directorate of International Organisations until his nomination yesterday.

Al Maliki's papers will be sent to Iraq for approval, the sources said.

Jordan appointed Nayef Al Zaidan as its head of diplomatic mission in Baghdad on June 30, and the UAE named Ebrahim Al Shehi as its ambassador to Iraq on July 6 during a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen have embassies in Baghdad, but none have ambassadors.

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