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US troops stand to attention in front of American and Iraqi flags suring a handover ceremony near the town of Hawija on May 15, 2011. Photo:Ali al-Saadi/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi will land in Washington on Tuesday with a government delegation to kick off the second round of Iraq-US strategic dialogue, an Iraqi government official said on Monday.
Government spokesperson Ahmed Mullah Talal confirmed to reporters that the next round of talks between Washington and Baghdad will “not be the last.”
“Iraqi PM Kadhimi’s visit is to start the second round of the strategic dialogue, but this is not the last round, as there will be other rounds as well,” Talal said. “The second round of the strategic dialogue will focus on security, economy, energy, and health sectors.”
The talks will begin with a meeting between Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his American counterpart Mike Pompeo, Talal added.
Hussein, who will be the leading negotiator in the Iraqi delegation told TRT World media agency on Monday that the aim of the dialogue is to “reshape and reform” the relations between Iraq and the US.
Hussein arrived in Washington on Monday night, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The first round of talks began on June 11 via an online conference. The US and Iraq agreed to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq in the coming months, according to a joint statement.
The subject will be “renegotiated,” according to Hussein.
“Iraq parliament demands all the foreign troops in Iraq to be withdrawn, while the government aims to have strong relations with the US. Therefore, we will have a renegotiation about this matter, and we hope that we reach a common understanding that would be in the interest of both countries,” he told TRT World.
Washington and Baghdad have had a rocky relationship in recent years, exacerbated by mounting tensions between the US and its adversary, Iran.
A deadly rocket attack on the K-1 base in Kirkuk last December led to an escalation in hostilities between the US and Iran, culminating in the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad on January 3.
Tehran retaliated on January 8 with a barrage of missiles targeting Iraqi military bases that host US troops.
In response to the assassinations on Iraqi soil, pro-Iran factions in the Iraqi parliament held a non-binding vote to expel foreign forces from the country.
US-led forces have withdrawn from several Iraqi bases in recent months, which they say is part of a general repositioning in response to successes in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and to protect personnel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April alone, the US-led coalition handed over control of six military bases to the ISF, including Abu Ghraib near Baghdad, K1 in Kirkuk, al-Qaim near the Syrian border, Qayyarah in western Iraq, al-Sqoor in Mosul, and al-Taqaddum in Anbar.
The latest base to be transferred to the ISF by the US-led coalition was Besmaya military base, southwest of Baghdad, last month.
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