An Arab League (AL) senior official on Sunday voiced hope for achieving reconciliation during the upcoming two international conferences on Iraq to be hosted by Egypt in early May.

In a press statement issued on Sunday, Ali al-Garoush, the director of the Arab department at the Arab League and the official in charge of the Iraq file, highlighted the importance of reaching a balanced political and security solution in order to achieve reconciliation and stability in the country.

Al-Garoush's statement came a day after Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced an international ministerial meeting to be held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3-4.

Meanwhile, Zebari also announced another international conference on a five-year Iraqi reconstruction plan which will also be held in Egypt at the same time.

Al-Garoush also vowed to keep the participant posted on the means of handling the Iraqi crisis envisioned by a resolution on Iraq reached at the Riyadh Arab summit.

During the summit held on March 28-29, Arab leaders reached a clear resolution in this regard premised on respecting Iraq's sovereignty as well as its Arab and Islamic identity, according to al-Garoush's statement.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2007)