Arab economy ministers opened talks in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday (March 27th) to discuss tourism, water security and methods for dealing with disasters, AFP reported.

The meetings were held ahead of the Arab League summit scheduled for Thursday.

Tuesday's meeting was held at the Ishtar Sheraton Hotel in central Baghdad. Libya's Economy Minister Ahmed al-Koshli transferred the chairmanship of the meeting to Iraqi Trade Minister Khairallah Hassan Babakr.

During the meeting, Babakr spoke about the need to "build a solid base between Arab countries in order to achieve economic development" and called for "increasing the level of trade exchange between Arab states".