On Wednesday, an Iraqi government official confirmed Saudi ambitions to invest heavily in Samarra District, Saladin Governorate, the capital of Islamic civilisation.
According to Samarra Mayor Bakr Muhammad Sharif, “the Saudi ambassador to Baghdad, during his recent visit to the city of Samarra, confirmed the preparation of a plan for Saudi investment companies to enter the judiciary in the sectors of reconstruction, construction, infrastructure rehabilitation, and various projects.”
“The plan is still in the works,” Sharif noted, “and its details have yet to be announced, according to Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz Al-Shammari.”
Ambassador Al-Shammari recently visited Samarra with a delegation from the Iraqi-Saudi Friendship Committee, where he saw the Malawi Minaret and listened to an explanation about its history and the historical monuments it houses, as well as taking a tour of the city’s streets.
Samarra is located east of the Tigris River in Salah al-Din Governorate, about 125 kilometers north of Baghdad, and has significant historical significance due to the important landmarks and archaeological sites it contains dating back to the era of the Abbasid Caliphate, where it was the state capital for a time, as listed by the United Nations. UNESCO included it on the World Heritage List in 2007.
