Iraqi Officials Visit Saudi amid Warming Ties

A delegation of senior Iraqi officials has visited Saudi Arabia in the latest sign of apparently warming ties between the neighbors, Iraq's interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

News of the visit came after Shiite-led Iraq said it would approve the nomination of a new ambassador to Baghdad from the Sunni-ruled kingdom -- the first since 1990.

The Iraqi delegation was headed by National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh, and also included deputy interior minister Adnan al-Assadi, according to the statement, which did not specify the exact dates of the visit.

The delegation met unnamed Saudi officials and discussed "Saudi detainees in Iraq, ways to improve bilateral relations, Iraqi efforts in fighting terrorism, and other issues of common interest."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has a long history of rocky relations with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom was widely seen as having backed his rival Iyad Allawi for the premiership after 2010 parliamentary elections.