Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said Thursday (December 8th) that the next Arab Summit would be held in Baghdad at its scheduled date in late March.

"The summit will be held in the home of peace, Baghdad. This is a final decision that everyone has agreed on," al-Arabi said during a joint news conference in Baghdad with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Al-Arabi also said he met with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss regional issues, including the Syrian crisis. "We asked and urged Iraq to play an active and influential role in it," he said.

"The prime minister told us the Iraqi government will talk with its Syrian counterparts about calming the situation, ending violence and realising the Syrian people's aspirations," he said.

Al-Arabi said Arab League officials believe the solution to the Syrian crisis is "to start political reform, stop violence, realise the Syrian people's aspirations and accept the Arab initiative".

Zebari said Iraq has completed all the preparations for holding the Arab Summit. "We have found great enthusiasm from Arab countries for stability in Iraq and its return to the Arab sphere," he said.