Kuwait PM in Iraq amid warming ties

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah landed in Iraq on Wednesday for a surprise one-day visit as the two countries look to cement improving ties and resolve a swathe of long-running disputes. Sabah was met at Baghdad airport by his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki. Along with signing bilateral agreements on the economy, education, culture and the environment, Kuwait and Iraq will also focus on unresolved disagreements stemming from Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the Gulf emirate. Many of the two countries' outstanding issues have, however, been resolved in recent months as Iraq has sought to be removed from Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows for sanctions ranging from economic measures to an arms embargo. Kuwait has so far received about $30 billion in war reparations, with payments expected to be completed in 2015. The two countries have in recent months also asked the UN to start repairing border markers, and have worked to reach a final settlement on a dispute between their state-run airlines.