Bouteflika to Attend Arab Summit in Baghdad

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will attend the Arab Summit in 29 March in Baghdad, said Ali Mohamed al-Hussein al-Adib, the special envoy of Iraqi President, Jalal Talibani.

At the end of his meeting with President Bouteflika, Mr al-Hussein al-Adib, who is Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, told reporters that “President Bouteflika assured that he will be on the top of Algeria delegation in the 23th Arab Summit in Iraq,” adding that “three other North African nations – namely Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia- have, so far, confirmed their participation.”

The Iraqi official further reported that President Bouteflika told him that “he hopes that the upcoming Arab Summit in Baghdad to an opportunity to reunify the dispersed Arab nations together, and boost unified Arab efforts amid changes taking place in the region.” President Bouteflika further indicated that the Baghdad Arab Summit should discuss key issues that have direct link with the reality on the ground; the Iraqi official quoted him as saying. 

Meanwhile, Mr al-Hussein al-Adib revealed that the strife torn Syria, under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, has not been invited to attend the summit, saying the attendance of Syria should be decided unanimously by the Arab League.

Algeria has already expressed reserves over attending any Arab Summit in Iraq, as long as the US forces are still occupying the country.

Algerian officials said in case Algeria accepts taking part in any Arab Summit in Iraq, it would be considered as a “benediction” and “acceptance” to the US occupation of Iraq. 

The retreat of US forces from Iraq later last year should have changed the mind of President Bouteflika, who finally accepted to attend the summit in Baghdad. 

President Jalal Talibani’s Special Envoy has further denied reports that the summit could be transferred to Qatar over security concerns in Baghdad. “The AL technical delegation has approved the security plan that Iraqi authorities have drawn up to secure the summit and the participants,” he said, adding “Transferring the summit to Qatar is a mere rumor that aims at jamming on Iraq’s efforts to hold it in Baghdad.”