Iraq
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani (left) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani (right). Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region is looking forward to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s visit to Washington in hopes that it will serve the interests of all Iraqis, President Nechirvan Barzani said on Monday.
Sudani arrived in Washington on Saturday in his first ever US visit as prime minister and is set to meet with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. He is also scheduled to visit the Pentagon and meet with US lawmakers, companies, and members of the Iraqi diaspora.
“The Kurdistan Region looks forward with optimism to the visit of Prime Minister @mohamedshia to Washington. We fully support this visit and are confident that the interests of all Iraqis will be represented,” President Barzani said on X.
“We hope that there will be productive meetings that further develop relations between our countries,” Barzani added.
On Sunday, Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi told Rudaw that economic matters are the top priority of Sudani’s visit.
“The main purpose of the visit is to reactivate the Strategic Framework Agreement,” said Awadi, noting that the agreement contains “seven important sections, such as economy, investment, agriculture, education, environment and climate,” all areas where Iraq wants to improve ties with the US.
The Strategic Framework Agreement came into effect in 2009 and seeks to normalize Baghdad-Washington relations through long-term bilateral economic, diplomatic, cultural, and security cooperation.
Before his departure, Sudani said in a video message that the goal of his visit was to bring relations with the US to “a new stage.
The official schedule of the visit published by the prime minister’s office includes meetings with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Biden’s National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk.
Sudani arrived in Washington on Saturday in his first ever US visit as prime minister and is set to meet with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. He is also scheduled to visit the Pentagon and meet with US lawmakers, companies, and members of the Iraqi diaspora.
“The Kurdistan Region looks forward with optimism to the visit of Prime Minister @mohamedshia to Washington. We fully support this visit and are confident that the interests of all Iraqis will be represented,” President Barzani said on X.
“We hope that there will be productive meetings that further develop relations between our countries,” Barzani added.
On Sunday, Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi told Rudaw that economic matters are the top priority of Sudani’s visit.
“The main purpose of the visit is to reactivate the Strategic Framework Agreement,” said Awadi, noting that the agreement contains “seven important sections, such as economy, investment, agriculture, education, environment and climate,” all areas where Iraq wants to improve ties with the US.
The Strategic Framework Agreement came into effect in 2009 and seeks to normalize Baghdad-Washington relations through long-term bilateral economic, diplomatic, cultural, and security cooperation.
Before his departure, Sudani said in a video message that the goal of his visit was to bring relations with the US to “a new stage.
The official schedule of the visit published by the prime minister’s office includes meetings with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Biden’s National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment