Al-Maliki to head for Britain

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will start an official visit to Britain on Wednesday afternoon leading a high-profile delegation, a media source said. “The premier will lead a delegation of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani, Trade Minister Abdulfalah al-Sudani, in an official visit to Britain,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. The official spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabagh, said on Monday (April 27) that al-Maliki and his British counterpart Gordon Brown will attend a conference in London on investment in Iraq on Thursday (April 30), which will also be attended by Iraqi and foreign businessmen and investors to discuss investment opportunities in the country. “The premier will also visit France on Monday (May 4), where he will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon,” he added. “The visit is the first of an Iraqi prime minister to France,” he also said. SH (P) 1