Arab Parliament speaker arrives in Baghdad for talks

By Amer al-Hassani

BAGHDAD

Meshaal al-Salami, the speaker of the Arab Parliament and a Saudi national, arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday for talks with Iraqi officials.

According to a statement issued by Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, talks are expected to focus on the ongoing fight against the Daesh terrorist group.

Discussions in Baghdad are also expected to tackle inter-Arab cooperation, especially that between the Arab Gulf states and Iraq, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry source told Anadolu Agency.

“The Iraqi government is prepared to cooperate with all parties with a view to bolstering security, political and economic coordination with the Gulf States,” the source, who preferred anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media, said.

Several officials from the Arab Gulf States have recently visited Iraq amid a gradual thawing of ties after years of tension.

Affiliated with the Arab League, the Arab Parliament’s 88 members are selected by the national assemblies of the Cairo-based league’s 22 member states.

In 2010, Turkey was officially granted observer status to the pan-Arab parliament, which has played a largely symbolic role since its establishment in 2005.