Official invitations sent to Egypt, Lebanon to attend Arab summit

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s State Minister for Parliament’s Affairs Safaa al-Din al-Safi arrived in Cairo on Saturday to hand over an official invitation to Egyptian government to attend the coming Arab summit in Baghdad, according to Egyptian media. Al-Safi will meet during his two-day visit to Egypt with Egyptian officials to give them the invitation, before heading for Tripoli to hand over a similar invitation. For his part, Planning Minister Ali Shukri met on Saturday with Lebanese President Michel Sulaiman in Beirut to hand over a written message from the Iraqi government inviting him for the Arab meeting late March. Several Iraqi ministers started a multi-leg tour to Arab countries to invite presidents and Kings to attend the summit. Earlier in February, Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmed bin Helli announced during his visit to Iraq that Baghdad will host the Arab summit on March 29. The Arab summit was initially scheduled to be held in Baghdad in 2011, but was postponed to March 2012 due to the unrest in the region.