"In a midday joint press conference with Zebari, Moussa is expected to announce the League's blessing to Iraq's newly-formed government, which won a parliamentary vote of confidence on December 21" 1/8/2011
Arab League chief due in Baghdad Sat to set stage for summit
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa is scheduled to arrive here on Saturday morning to review with the Iraqi leaders the arrangements for the Arab Summit, due in late March.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and a number of senior officials will be receiving Moussa and his party tomorrow, a ministry official told KUNA here on Friday.
In a midday joint press conference with Zebari, Moussa is expected to announce the League's blessing to Iraq's newly-formed government, which won a parliamentary vote of confidence on December 21.
The league chief will also hold talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and Parliament Speaker Osama Al-Nujaifi, as well as leaders of the major parliamentary blocs, including head of the Iraqi List and former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi, leader of the National Iraqi Alliance (NIA) Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, and Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) Ammar Al-Hakim.
A delegation from League has visited Baghdad on Thursday to arrange for Moussa's meetings with the Iraqi leaders, the source said.
The agenda of visit also includes an address Moussa will deliver to the Iraqi House of Representatives (lower chamber of parliament).
The speech is expected to focus on the Arab support to the country after the formation of a new government, insiders of the League's mission here said.
Moussa will visit Najaf city, some 160 km south of Baghdad, to meet Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, as well as Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church Emmanuel III Delly.
In the northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, Moussa will hold talks with president and prime minister of the regional government Masaud Barazani and Borhom Saleh respectively, the sources added.
Moussa has recently hailed the improvement of the situation in Iraq and the cancellation of the sanctions, imposed by the UN Security Council on the country under Chapter VII of the UN Charter during Saddam Hussein era.
In pre-visit statements, he said the visit would be part of the League's advocacy for national reconciliation in Iraq and for the country's restoring of its regional role, noting that the Arab world is looking forward to such a constructive role.
During their 22nd ordinary summit, held in Sirte, Libya, on March 27, 2010, the Arab leaders agreed to convene the upcoming summit in Baghdad so show support to the efforts being made by the Iraqi government to rebuild and stabilize the country in the political, economic and social sectors.
The coming March summit will be the third gathering of Arab heads of state and government in Iraq after the events of 1978 and 1990.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2136242&Language=en
