Iraqi president invited to attend Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi President Abdul-Latif Rashid received an invitation to the 32nd Arab League summit, set to take place on Friday, May 20 in Saudi Arabia.  The invitation was delivered by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Iraq,  Abdulaziz Al-Shammari, in Baghdad.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has also been invited to attend the summit, following 13 years of isolation. Recently, Damascus has been readmitted to the League, after its membership was suspended in November 2011.  

Syria’s rapprochement with Arab countries began as early as 2018, when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reopened its embassy, following years of tension between Damascus and Abu Dhabi. Assad and multiple high-level UAE diplomats have exchanged visits since then.

Saudi Arabia, early this year, joined its Gulf allies and other Arab countries in normalizing ties with Damascus.

Hosting an Arab parliament meeting in Baghdad in early 2023, Iraq reiterated its support for Syria’s reintegration into the Arab fold to resolve the country’s crisis.

More than 500,000 people have been killed as a result of the Syrian crisis, which dragged multiple regional and international actors into the conflict. Furthermore, millions of Syrians have been displaced by the bloody conflict.

Previously, the toppling of Assad and his regime had been a precondition for most of the Arab countries to normalize ties with the country.