Baghdad Arab Summit to be held in its scheduled time, Parliament Speaker says:

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Parliament Speaker, Usma al-Nujeify, has said on Tuesday that the Arab Summit would be held in Baghdad in its scheduled time, adding that the current crisis in some Arab states won’t hamper the holding of the Summit. “Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshiar Zibari, has contacted me in person and requested me to convey the Iraqi government’s message to the Parliament members, following statements by some of them, saying that Iraq is not able to host the Arab Summit in its scheduled time, calling upon them to stop such statements,” Nijeify said. “The Iraqi government is prepared to host the Arab Summit in its scheduled time and place, and won’t make any change in this respect,” the Iraqi Parliament Speaker said, adding: “I request the Parliament Members to confirm this issue and to give a positive image for the Arab States, confirming that all current (Arab) crisis won’t hamper the holding of the Summit (in Baghdad).” Noteworthy is that a decision had been taken to hold the Arab Summit in Baghdad next March, and Iraq had announced a broad plan to rehabilitate the streets, buildings and five 5-star hotels, including Babel, Palestine, Baghdad and Ishtar hotels, to receive the Summit’s participants. Nijeify’s statement followed broad demonstrations in Tunisia in mid December, in protest to umemployment, high prices, corruption and political crisis, that forced its President Zine al-Abdine Bin-Ali to leave the country for Saudi Arabia, before it extended to Egypt on Dec. 25 and then to Yemen. PT / SKH 2299