The first Saudi prisoner in Iraq, Saud Abdullah Al-Shammari, returned Saturday to the Kingdom after spending eight years in Iraqi prisons. Al-Shammari, who was released by the Iraqi government, was incarcerated on charges of illegally crossing into Iraq. He was received by his family at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Iraqi government also set free another Saudi prisoner, Nimir Al-Otaibi, who finished his prison sentence. His brother, Mish'al, said he was optimistic his brother would return to the Kingdom soon especially with the arrival of Al-Shammari. The moves comes after the Kingdom and Iraq signed a prisoner exchange deal in March that will see hundreds of Saudi prisoners return to the Kingdom and signals further improvement of relations between the two countries. Maad Al-Obaidi, bilateral relations officer at the Iraqi Embassy in Riyadh, reassured Saudi families who have sons in Iraqi prisons that their sons will return to them after they complete their respective prison terms. Meanwhile, sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette on condition of anonymity that Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Northern Frontiers Province, will soon meet the Iraqi ambassador to the Kingdom, Ghanem Al-Jamili, and the commercial attaché, Ali Jaber, who will visit the region and meet the Iraqi community in Arar. Al-Jamili is also expected to meet senior officials of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the region to reconsider reopening the Arar border crossing on the border with Iraq, which will boost Saudi exports to the country and promote trade. The border crossing, 340 km southwest of Baghdad, has been closed since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait is only opens to Iraqi pilgrims. __
