Arab League intends to continue cooperation with Iran: official

“Iran is a great and important country in the region, and we have had historical, friendly, and unique cooperation with the country,” he told the Mehr News Agency after a regional meeting on Iraq.

The Tehran conference of Iraq’s neighbors showed Iran’s pivotal role in helping Iraq, he added.

The regional conference, which focused on security and development in Iraq, gathered officials from Iraq and its neighbors -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Turkey -– plus Egypt and Bahrain.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and Ashraf Qazi, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan’s special representative for Iraq, also attended the meeting that was held on July 8 and 9.

Positive consultations took place during the meeting and the participants reached a consensus to take measures to help Iraq in practice, Helli said.

He called on Iraq’s neighbors, the Arab League, the OIC, and the United Nations to redouble their efforts to assist the war-torn country.

He also urged all the Iraqi people to maintain unity to prevent further terrorism and bloodshed.

Helli dismissed the possibility of giving Iran observer status in the Arab League, saying the bloc has no intention of giving any country such status.

“But we emphasize the necessity for the continuation of our constructive and friendly cooperation with the Islamic Republic,” he stated.

RS/HG

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MNA