Arab summit in Baghdad on March 29

Arab leaders on Monday called an annual summit for March 29 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for the first time since the US-led of invasion of 2003.

"The Arab League summit will be held in Baghdad on March 29," Iraq's ambassador to the Arab League, Qais Al-Azzawi, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the 22-member bloc's permanent representatives in Cairo.

"The conditions are ready for holding the conference on that day. We trust that this will be one of the most successful Arab summits," said Ali Musawi, spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.

Ahead of the summit, Arab foreign ministers are to meet on March 3 in Cairo, headquarters of the Arab League and the Arab world's most populous nation, the bloc's deputy secretary general, Ahmed Ben Helli, said.

They will also meet in Baghdad on March 28, after permanent representatives to the Arab League meet in Cairo over the two previous days, Azzawi said.

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