Iraq agreed with the United States to withdraw the last American combat forces on its soil, where they are still deployed to counter ISIS.
The two countries affirmed in a joint statement at the conclusion of the third round of the strategic dialogue between them through visual communication technology, that "the mission of the United States and the coalition forces has turned into a training and advisory mission, which subsequently allows the redeployment of any combat force still in Iraq, provided that the timetable for that is determined during Future talks. "
Hussein confirmed that Iraq seeks to strengthen partnership projects with Washington in various fields (French).
In his speech at the opening of this round of talks, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, expressed his country's keenness to cooperate and strengthen partnership with the United States in all fields, and said that "Iraq seeks to strengthen partnership projects with Washington in various fields, including security, health, energy, environment and culture." And education. "
Hussein stressed the need to "strengthen the Iraqi-American partnership through memoranda and agreements signed between the two countries," explaining that "Iraqi forces need programs provided by the United States in the field of training and arming, and we seek to continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation, and we affirm the Iraqi government's commitment to protect members of diplomatic missions." Its headquarters and facilities. "
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, affirmed that Iraq has witnessed an openness in its relations on the Arab, Islamic and international spheres.
He added during his speech, through the same video call, "Our meeting comes as an affirmation of the partnership relationship between Iraq and the United States," indicating that "the Iraqi government is going to lay the foundations for democracy," and clarified that "the Iraqi government has devoted to the principles of the constitution through its government approach."
Al-Kazemi's statements
Commenting on these talks, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, said that the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States deals with multiple files between the two countries, including political, economic, health and cultural, as well as security cooperation.
Al-Kazemi added during the ministerial meeting of the National Security Council that during the dialogue session, the presence of the international coalition forces, which were brought to Iraq to fight ISIS
, and had an influential role in this field
, will be discussed
.
He stressed that the great development in the capabilities of our security forces, and the change in the form of the terrorist threat on the ground, paved the way for the departure of approximately 60% of the coalition forces during the past months of the life of this government.
Al-Kazemi said that this matter enabled Iraq to move soon to the stage where there is no need for foreign combat units, and to be limited to training, advisory, logistical support and intelligence cooperation roles, until Iraq reaches the stage of self-sufficiency with the efforts of its sons and their cooperation and solidarity.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces emphasized that the great development in the capabilities of our security forces, and the change in the form of the terrorist threat on the ground, paved the way for the departure of nearly 60% of the coalition forces during the past months of the life of this government.
- Media Office of the Prime Minister đźđ¶ (@IraqiPMO) April 7, 2021
The first round of strategic dialogue between Baghdad and Washington was held last June, while the second was held during August 2020.
The two previous rounds included taking steps on the path to reducing US forces, following continuous pressure from Iraqi political parties against the foreign presence in the country.
Since 2014, the United States has led an international coalition to combat ISIS, which controlled a third of Iraq at the time.
And there are about 3 thousand soldiers from the international coalition forces, including 2,500 American soldiers, to fight ISIS in the country.