Egypt to be "active" participant in Iraqi Arab League meet (Roundup)

Dec 26, 2010, 15:55 GMT

Baghdad - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said on Sunday that his country will take part in the Arab League annual meeting scheduled to be held in Iraq next March, despite concerns over the conflict-ridden country's ability to play host.

'Egypt shall have an active participation in the Arab summit,' Aboul-Gheit said at a joint press conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari.

Iraq is trying to bolster its international relations, though analysts have said that Baghdad might not be able to host the Arab summit, which the government sees as a key step towards its diplomatic future.

The current security situation remains tense and Iraq has yet to restore good ties with all of its neighbours, including some Arab states.

'There are a lot of residues that had passively affected our relations with the neighbouring states and the whole world, due to the aggressive policies of the former regime,' Zebari said, blaming ousted dictator Saddam Hussein for Iraq's diplomatic complications.

There were for instance signs of strife between Baghdad and Riyadh during the formation of the new Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is a major player in Middle East politics.

But Zebari noted on Sunday that Iraq has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah.

'Relations between Iraq and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are not cold, and we shall strive to build and boost them,' he told reporters.

Aboul-Gheit's visit is the first by a foreign minister to Iraq since the formation of the new government this month after nine months of political deadlock.

Aboul-Gheit travelled to Iraq to mark the opening of Egypt's first consulate outside of the capital, in the northern city of Arbil.

He pledged that Cairo would ramp up its diplomatic activity in the country and Egyptian companies would invest further in Iraq, especially in the oil and gas sectors.

His visit also featured a meeting with al-Maliki, whom he congratulated on forming 'a government of national partnership.' The Egyptian top diplomat additionally met with the president of the autonomous Kurdish north of Iraq, Massoud Barzani.

A day before his trip to Iraq, Aboul-Gheit had said that Cairo would like to see Iraq free of United States troops. Egypt was opposed to the US-led invasion in 2003.

'We want all of them to leave and we want them to leave Iraq as soon as possible,' he said, referring to the 50,000 US soldiers that remain in the country.

The troop presence is expected to be further wound down in 2011.

In 2005, Egypt's ambassador had been kidnapped and killed in Baghdad. Aboul-Gheit's last trip to Iraq in late 2008 marked the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to the nation since 1990, when Saddam led his country into a war with Kuwait.

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