CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Saturday that Egypt would host a meeting of Arab officials next week in an effort to stop the spiral of violence in Iraq. Abul-Gheit said the Wednesday meeting of foreign ministers would focus on the continuing dangerous Iraqi internal events and would ask loyal Iraqis to work to stop the violence, according to remarks carried in Egypt s semiofficial Middle East News Agency. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was expected to attend the meeting to report on ongoing efforts to form a government that includes all Iraqis, Abul-Gheit said. The ministerial meeting will call for a conference to be held in Iraq to build internal accord and unity, MENA said. The meeting follows promises by Arab leaders last week at a summit in Sudan that they would step up their role in helping to rebuild Iraq, after Zebari criticized them for not doing enough to help his war-torn nation. Arabs have been concerned that Shiite Iran is gaining influence in Iraq, particularly in light of a proposed U.S.-Iranian dialogue on Iraq. But Abul-Gheit shrugged off those talks, saying they would not take place until a new Iraqi government was formed. Earlier this week, diplomats said top intelligence officers from several Arab countries and Turkey have been meeting secretly to coordinate their governments strategies to avoid any regional backlash in case civil war erupts in Iraq and in an attempt to block Iran s interference. AP
