The Ministry of Trade announced in an official statement today the participation of the delegation of the Republic of Iraq in the meetings of the Economic and Social Council that began today, Saturday, under the umbrella of the Arab League, in preparation for holding the 33rd session of the Arab Summit in Bahrain at the level of senior officials. The statement quoted the Director General of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations, Riyad Fakher Al-Hashimi, as saying, 'The meetings discussed the agenda items as presented by the Secretariat of the Economic and Social Council, with various topics related to social and economic aspects, in addition to the topic of the progress achieved in establishing the Greater Arab Free Trade Area.' The statement continued, "Recommendations will be agreed upon for the topics presented to be presented to the meeting of the Economic and Social Council at the ministerial level, in which the delegation of the Republic of Iraq is headed by the Minister of Trade, Atheer Dawood Al-Ghurairi, to then be approved by the heads of state at the Arab Summit meeting to be held in Bahrain on the sixteenth of currentMay." The Director General of the Economic Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iraqi Chargé d'Affairs in Bahrain participated within the Iraqi delegation. Source: National Iraqi News Agency