Hashemi to miss Arab-Latin American summit

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on Sunday said he will not lead Iraq’s delegation to the Doha-based Arab-Latin American summit in an attempt to cut expenses and to achieve an effective Iraqi representation by the premier-led delegation to the Arab summit. “Hashemi has thanked President Jalal al-Talabani for choosing him to lead the Iraqi delegation to the Arab-Latin American summit, which will be held in Doha on Tuesday (March 31),” according to a statement released by Hashemi’s office and received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Hashemi pointed out that it is significant to have one Iraqi delegation to the Arab-Latin American and the Arab summits in an effort to present a unified Iraqi stance towards the issues tackled in both. Earlier today, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in the Qatari capital Doha to attend the 21 st Arab summit, which is scheduled to start tomorrow, the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV channel said. Maliki, along with his deputy, Rafie al-Issawi, and several government officials, was received by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani at the airport, according to the channel. SS (P) 1