CAIRO: An Arab League summit originally planned for March this year has been delayed by 12 months at the request of its host, Iraq, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told Reuters on Thursday. Asked about the reason for the delay, Moussa said: "That is upon the formal request from the government of Iraq." "It has been decided to postpone the Baghdad summit until March 2012 at the request of the Republic of Iraq which will retain the right to host the (next) summit," the 22-memer league ssaid in a statement following talks between Moussa and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. The decision "takes account of current events in several Arab countries," it said in a statement, adding that the postponement was aimed at ensuring a "heavy presence and representation at high levels." Iraq has spent 450 million dollars preparing to host its first regular Arab summit since 1978, as Baghdad seeks to reassert its diplomatic position in the region. The country hosted an extraordinary summit in 1990. Moussa said the delay till March 2012 had been communicated to all Arab League members and there was agreement among them. He added that the March 2012 summit would be hosted by Iraq. The next summit had been due in March but was already put off due to the "Arab Spring" of unrest that has swept the region, toppling regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. In April, Bahrain said Gulf states wanted the Baghdad summit cancelled altogether after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki charged the crushing of Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled kingdom was stoking sectarian tensions. Saudi Arabia, whose state religion is a severely puritanical version of Sunni Islam that considers Shias heretics, led a joint military force into Bahrain at Manama's request to free up troops to quell the pro-democracy protests. Riyadh and other capitals in the Gulf accused Shia Iran of fomenting the protests in Bahrain. Apart from Bahrain, the other oil-rich monarchies in the Gulf have not experienced the level of unrest which rocked Syria and North African states, although they are keeping a close watch on dissidents and rights activists. –Agencies
