Talabani to return home today

SULAIMANIYA / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will return to Sulaimaniya on Thursday afternoon from Iran, where he took part in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, a media source said. “The president will arrives in the Sulaimaniya airport on Thursday afternoon (Mar. 12) and will remain in Kurdistan to solve pending problems inside his party,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Talabani had described Iraq’s participation in the Tehran-based Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit as a significant starting point for stronger relations with the organization. The summit was held on Wednesday (March 11) with the participation of the presidents of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Talabani, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Khalifa al-Thani; the Syrian vice president, Farouk al-Shara were guests of honor at the summit. The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental international organization involving ten Asian nations. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union.   SH (S)/SR 1