ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met US President's Special Envoy to Iraq Tom Barrack in Washington on Monday evening to discuss expanding economic cooperation and regional developments as Baghdad seeks to redefine its partnership with the US, Zaidi's office announced.
According to a statement from the prime minister's office early Tuesday, Zaidi and Barrack discussed renewed "prospects for joint cooperation between Iraq and the United States of America" and reviewed "the trajectory of economic relations between the two countries, recent developments in these relations, and ways to expand areas of cooperation and partnership."
The two sides also stressed "the importance of supporting efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability and reducing levels of tension," while highlighting "the pivotal role Iraq can play in bridging viewpoints and contributing to calming the situation at the regional level."
Zaidi arrived in Washington on Monday for a weeklong visit that includes a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The visit is expected to focus on new ways to strengthen bilateral ties which include opportunities for renewed American investment in Iraq's energy, electricity, and infrastructure sectors.
The trip comes as Baghdad seeks to restructure its relationship with Washington beyond the security-focused framework that has defined its relations since the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). The conclusion of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and withdrawal of its advisory mission by the end of September will transition the cooperation to a bilateral partnership under the 2011 Strategic Framework Agreement.
The timing also coincides with national efforts to consolidate weapons and all armed factions operating in Iraq under state control. Prime Minister Zaidi has repeatedly stressed that restricting arms to the state is "a sovereign decision" and launched measures to sever political parties and armed factions from the Iran-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Spokesperson for the Iraqi government and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Sabah al-Numan told Rudaw last week that there would be "no room" for weapons outside state control by the end of September, arguing that the premier's Washington visit would help lay the groundwork for the next phase of US-Iraq relations.
Despite the planned withdrawal of the coalition mission, Iraqi officials and international partners continue to warn that ISIS remains a security threat, even as Baghdad asserts that its security forces are increasingly capable of confronting the group's remaining cells.
Zaidi's visit has drawn criticism from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, which voiced their “principled rejection of the visit” on grounds that it replaces "military occupation with an even more dangerous economic occupation" and seeks to "mortgage the future of generations to companies linked, directly or indirectly, to the interests of the occupation."
