BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials sought Wednesday to assure Kuwait's visiting prime minister that the country is nothing like it was under Saddam Hussein, who invaded the small, neighboring kingdom two decades ago. Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheik Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah arrived in Baghdad in the first visit by a Kuwaiti prime minister since the 1991 Gulf War. It is a boon for Shiite-dominated Iraq as it tries to repair relations with its Sunni Arab neighbors. But an unusual deadly skirmish between Iraqi fishermen and the Kuwait coast guard earlier this week has marred the talks. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki sought to downplay the incident during a meeting with the Kuwaiti leader, saying that it should not be blown out of proportion. The Iraqi prime minister stressed that Iraq wants to solve the problems left over from Saddam's regime including mending relations with its neighbors. “We are neighbors and brothers, and we should solve all sticking points,” Al-Maliki said, according to a statement put out by his office. Iraq has seen a steady stream of visitors from the region ever since the Cabinet was formed after months of negotiations ending in December, including delegations from Egypt, Jordan and Iran. Iraq's mainly Sunni neighbors are racing to try to gain more influence in Iraq, partly to counter Shiite Iran's rising power. For its part, Iraq appears to welcome the opportunity to build ties with countries, such as Kuwait, that largely shunned Iraq during al-Maliki's first term. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari sought during a press conference with his counterpart, Sheik Mohammed Al–Sabah, to allay any lingering Kuwaiti suspicions. “The Iraqi side assured the Kuwaiti delegation that Iraq today is not the Iraq of Saddam,” Zebari said. Also on the agenda was the $24 billion debt Iraq owes Kuwait as reparations for the Gulf War as well as the deadly clash between Iraqi fishermen and the Kuwaiti coast guard on Monday in the waters separating the two countries. One Kuwaiti coast guard official was killed in the shootout.
