By Xinhua,
Amman : Jordan on Monday appointed Nayef Zeidan, former Charge d’Affaires of Jordanian embassy in Tehran, as the country’s new ambassador to Iraq, a spokesman for Foreign Ministry said.
“Nayef Zeidan, who has served as a consul in the United Arab Emirates for two years, was sworn in today by King Abdullah and will leave for Iraq as soon as possible,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Jordan announced late May that the kingdom would designate an envoy to Iraq to restore its diplomatic mission in Baghdad in the near future after Baghdad said it would review a discounted oil deal for Amman.
During his recent visit to Jordan, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged the Jordanian government to return its ambassador to Iraq.
Following a 2003 attack that left 14 people killed, Jordan kept its embassy in Baghdad open but it was run by a charge d’affaires.
Jordan reportedly named an ambassador to Iraq three years ago but the diplomat failed to take up his post due to lack of security protection.
Early this month, the Iraqi government announced that the United Arab Emirates would appoint its ambassador to Baghdad within few days. Several Arab countries have linked sending back their ambassadors to restoring security in Iraq.