BAGHDAD, March 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani said Sunday a gathering of Arab parliamentarians next week will send a message of international unity.
Hosting the regional conference, he said, was a "real step paving the way for Iraq to retain its seat among the Arab and Islamic states," KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency, reported.
"We meet in Irbil as we do in Baghdad and in any part of Iraq, and this Iraqi choice should be respected," Al-Mashhadani said.
The chairman of the National Council of Iraqi Kurdistan, Adnan Mufti, said in a statement that holding the conference in Irbil was a "definite indication that the Kurdistan region is an important part and vital part of Iraq."
The news agency reported that the Arab parliamentarians will persuade their governments to open embassies in Baghdad.
Somalia, the Comoros and Libya have declared they will boycott the conference, which is expected to draw representatives from 19 nations, it was reported.
