An Arab delegation visits Iraq for the first time since its occupation

It was announced in Cairo that a high ranking delegation from the Arab League will visit Iraq next week, as the first of its kind since the US occupation in April.

The director of the Arab relations department at the Arab League Ali al-Jaroush said that the AL secretary general Amr Mousa formed a fact finding committee that will visit Iraq during the few coming days to make meetings with members of the provisional governing council and with the political, tribal and religious leaderships there.

Al-Jaroush explained that the aim of the visit is to crystallize a clear vision for the conditions in Iraq in order to submit a comprehensive report to the secretary general of the Arab League to the Arab foreign ministers in their preparatory meeting for the annual Arab summit due to be held in Tunisia in March 2004.

In September, the Arab foreign ministers agreed to recognize the provisional governing council as a representative for Iraq temporarily until a sovereign state is composed. However, Moussa kept bridges of dialogue open with all Iraqi political sources. In October, he met with Iraqi figures opposing the American occupation and not represented in this council.

The AL delegation will be also joined by experts from the Arab archeologists society to discuss the possibility of their contribution in renovating the Iraqi antiquities and restoring back stolen items. Those Arab experts were decided to be delegated to Iraq in a meeting Moussa held yesterday with the secretary general of the higher council for antiquities in Egypt Zahi Hawas, the rapparateur of Arab archeologists society and its secretary general.