Saudi Arabia to host Arab summit

LUXOR, Egypt, Jan 15 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia has changed its mind about not hosting this year's Arab summit and will now stage it in Riyadh in late March, Arab League officials said today.

Saudi Arabia told the final session of last year's Arab League meeting in Khartoum it did not want to host the 2007 summit even though its turn had come under the rotation system.

It gave no reason at the time for its decision.

''I have received an official letter from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... (saying) that the next summit will be held on specific days in the last week of March and will be held in Riyadh,'' said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

The Arab League would inform all its member governments of the Saudi decision, Moussa told reporters in the southern Egyptian town of Luxor.

An Arab League official said no explanation of the new Saudi decision had been received.

REUTERS AB RAI2354