A senior Jordanian official on Tuesday conceded that there were "arrangements" for King Abdullah II to visit Iraq, but said "no date has been set" for the trip, according to dpa. "The issue of the king's visit was discussed during the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's visit to Jordan" last month, Information Minister of State Nasser Judeh told reporters. "There is talk and arrangements, but no date has been set for visit, and we are going to declare it at the appropriate time," he said. Judeh was responding to questions about remarks by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zibari who said that King Abdullah was planning a visit to Baghdad. Jordan recently named a new ambassador to Iraq but said the envoy's travel plans depended on finalizing the security arrangements for the new premises of the Jordanian embassy which would be situated in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. The Jordanian embassy was the target for a fatal bombing in August 2003. Since then, the country's diplomatic mission has been run by a charge d'affaires.
