Iraq spawns renewed diplomatic interest

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- The improved security and political environment in Iraq spawned renewed diplomatic interest from its neighbors, the foreign minister said in Baghdad Wednesday.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on the occasion of Jordan naming an ambassador to Baghdad and a pending visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Iraq is experiencing a diplomatic awakening, Voices of Iraq reported.

"The recent political and security improvement in Iraq positively affect the Iraqi diplomacy and many country expressed readiness to send ambassadors to Iraq," the foreign minister said.

His statement comes as a top official with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council met with British Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Prentice in Baghdad to discuss bilateral ties between the two countries.

A statement from the office of Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, son of the Council's leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, said the two sides discussed political progress in Iraq and how that affected bilateral relations.

"The Shiite cleric asserted the deep and strong ties between Iraq and its neighboring countries," the statement read.