Adel Abdul-Mahdi looking to strengthen ties between two countries Will start visit to Kingdom on Wednesday RIYADH: Iraq"s prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia that his country was facing a major shift in its relationship with Riyadh. Abdul-Mahdi tweeted: "I will begin an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, accompanied by a delegation of senior ministers and business leaders. "During the visit, I will sign a number of bilateral agreements to strengthen cooperation between our A Saudi Arabian delegation visited Iraq earlier in April, when a new consulate in Baghdad was opened and $1 billion in loans for development projects in Iraq was announced. The opening of the new consulate building came as senior ministers from the Kingdom visited Baghdad as part of a meeting of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council.countries."