Officials from around the Middle East began arriving in Baghdad on Friday ahead of a summit aiming to promote peace and reconciliation in the region, including improving ties between arch rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Saturday meeting seeks to give Iraq a “unifying role” to tackle the crises shaking the region, according to sources close to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian left for Iraq to participate in the Baghdad summit, the ministry said.
His ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced the departure to the “meeting to support Iraq” in a short statement.The Islamic republic’s new President Ebrahim Raisi was invited to the Baghdad meeting.—Aljazeera
