Hashimi says to visit Qatar regardless of Arab summit

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi on Thursday said that he would visit the state of Qatar up Emir Hamad bin Khalifa’s invitation. “The Presidential Board (PB) viewed that I should pay the visit to Qatar whether an Arab summit is to be convened there or not,” Hashimi said in exclusive statements to IraqiNews.com news agency. The PB is composed of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Adel Abdelmahdi and Hashimi. “This issue was not settled so far. There is a follow-up of what’s going on in Qatar to know about the number of countries that would respond to holding this Arab summit,” he said, not setting a date for his visit to the Gulf state. He added that the PB will take a decision in this respect soon. “The Iraqi government is inclined to building balanced relations with all countries,” said Hashimi. AmR (P) 1