The Arab League has announced the postponement of its 23rd summit that was to be held in Baghdad next week to March 2012. This follows an official request from Iraq to postpone the summit with the preservation of its right to host it at the later date. The announcement came after talks between the Arab League's secretary-general, Amr Mousa, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in the secretariat's headquarters on Thursday. The postponement follows a series of talks between Iraq, other Arab states and the secretariat of the Arab League which revolved around the developments taking place in the region. The member states stressed the importance of providing all measures necessary for the Baghdad summit to succeed in terms of turnout and representation. The matters to be included in the summit's working schedule were also discussed. The Arab League stressed the importance of being fully committed to holding annual summits; an opportunity to meet with the region's kings, presidents and princes to study the Arab situation and discuss ways to strengthen their positions. It was emphasised that the decision of the Sert summit in 2010 that Iraq is to host the subsequent summit in Baghdad will be respected.
