Arab League opens an office in Iraq

In their meeting which lasted for one day in Cairo, the Arab Foreign ministers agreed to open an office for the Arab League (AL) in Iraq after the Iraqi President Jalal al-Talibani blamed them for their reservation to dispatching ambassador to his country.

In the final statement of the meeting of the AL meeting, the Arab ministers welcomed the announcement made by the AL secretary general to open a mission for the Arab League in Baghdad, and called on him to complete this mission as soon as possible in order to vitalize the role of the AL in Iraq.

This came after the Saudi foreign minister prince Saud al-Faisal announced prior to the meeting that the ministers will discuss the issue of raising diplomatic representation of the Arab states in Iraq, saying that "there are no obstacles for sending an ambassador to Iraq, but the matter is a security related issue."

The statement supported the efforts of the Iraqi government and the sides concerned to enhance security arrangements especially Arab and foreign diplomatic mission in it, and ensuring the safety of all delegated diplomats and representatives of regional and international companies and establishments and the media personnel.

The statement also urged governmental and non-governmental establishments and funds to effectively contribute to the rebuilding of Iraq, and canceling its debts so as to enable the Iraqi economy to rise up. The Iraqi officials confirmed they inherited a debt of $ 125 billion from the government of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

In their final statement the Arab foreign ministers indicated that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after an occupation of 38 years is the first step on the way to a complete withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem. The statement also condemned all forms of terrorism and rejection of all attempts made to link terrorism to any religion, culture or civilization.