Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has congratulated Haidar Al-Abadi on his nomination as the new prime minister of Iraq, replacing Nuri Al-Maliki, and expressed hope that Al-Abadi would be able to unify the Iraqi people.
In a congratulatory message sent to Al-Abadi, King Abdullah prayed that God Almighty may grant him success ... in “restoring cohesion” among the Iraqi people and “preserving Iraq’s unity and achieving its security, stability and development.”
He said he wants to see Iraq, under the new prime minister, “regain its rightful place in the Arab and Muslim world.”
King Abdullah also congratulated the new Iraqi President Mohammed Fouad Masum and new Parliament Speaker Salim Al-Jabouri. He also praised Masum for appointing Al-Abadi to lead the new government.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal earlier welcomed the nomination of Al-Abadi, describing it as good news.
“This is the good news I heard lately,” the veteran diplomat said during a news conference in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia shares more than 800 km of border with Iraq and has been alarmed by the offensive led by extremist forces, who have captured large swathes of its neighbor.
