UAE names ambassador to Iraq

ABU DHABI (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates has named its envoy to India as its ambassador to Iraq, as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited the country, an official said Sunday.

"The UAE cabinet, at its meeting today, approved the appointment of its current ambassador to India, Abdullah Ibrahim al-Shehhi, as its ambassador to Iraq," the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"The Iraqi government has already approved the nomination," he said.

The appointment came a month after UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan became the first high-ranking official from an Arab country in the Gulf to visit Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion and said Abu Dhabi would soon name an ambassador to Baghdad.