Former Sudanese FM appointed Arab League envoy to Iraq

Dec 26, 2005 (CAIRO) — Former Sudanese foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, was appointed as the Arab League’s special envoy tasked with preparing the upcoming reconciliation conference in Iraq.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa asked Ismail to follow events in Iraq and travel there to prepare the inter-faith conference sponsored by the League.

No date was set for Ismail’s first trip to Iraq but the conference itself is due to be held at the end of February or early March, as decided during preparatory meetings in Cairo last month.

The 22-member Arab League has recently stepped up its involvement in Iraq after being accused of sitting idly by as the country moved ever closer to civil chaos.

Mustafa Osman Ismail was Sudan’s foreign minister until the formation in September of a national unity government.

He was then appointed as an adviser to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir and was involved in a mediation attempt between Lebanon and Syria last month.

(AFP/ST)