Iraq Attends NATO Summit in Washington
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – A number of non-NATO countries were invited to the three-day NATO summit in Washington, which ended on Thursday. The event marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Iraq was among them, and the country was represented at the summit by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, a Kurd and senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP.)
Hussein has been a frequent visitor to Washington. In his visit in 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed him as “a long-time friend.”
Hussein was last in Washington in March, in preparation for the first visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani to Washington the following month. In that visit, Hussein met with Blinken, as well as Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, and other senior U.S. officials.
NATO Mission Iraq
NATO has a non-combat, advisory mission in Iraq. NATO Mission Iraq was established in October 2018. It “advises relevant Iraqi defense and security officials in the Ministry of Defense, Office of the National Security Advisor, and Prime Minister’s National Operations Center,” according to its website.
In August 2023, the mission of NATO Mission Iraq was expanded to include providing Iraq’s Ministry of Interior and Federal Police Command the same type of support that it had been providing the Ministry of Defense and the other agencies.
Notably, the expansion of the NATO mission came at the request of the Sudani government, as Sudani had assumed office the year before.
“All 32 NATO members and partners Austria and Australia contribute to NATO Mission Iraq,” its website says. “Currently, the mission consists of several hundred military and civilian advisors and support elements.”
In May, a Dutch officer, Lt. Gen. Lucas Schreurs, assumed command of NATO Mission Iraq.
Iraq at the Wash DC NATO Meeting: July 9-11
Fuad Hussein met on the sidelines of the NATO summit with a number of senior NATO officials. They included the Spanish Foreign Minister.
An important purpose of their meeting was to prepare for an upcoming visit that Sudani will make to Spain.
In addition, the two ministers “discussed the task of NATO Mission Iraq and the Spanish role within the framework of the alliance,” an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement explained. They also “affirmed the importance of enhancing economic relations between the two countries.”
Hussein raised a number of issues related to Israel’s conflict with Hamas, “calling for efforts to be exerted within the framework of the European Union and NATO to stop the war and prevent the spread of the conflict.”
Hussein also met with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain. The most important issue on their agenda was the upcoming Arab summit.
Bahrain hosted the last Arab summit, which took place in May. Iraq will host the next Arab summit, as Sudani announced then, after the Arab League approved Baghdad’s bid to host the event.
In addition, Bahrain has restored direct flights to Baghdad, and Hussein expressed Iraq’s appreciation.
And as Hussein told journalists, Iraq will be hosting a meeting between senior Turkish and Syrian officials, aimed at promoting their reconciliation. Toward that end, Hussein met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the NATO meeting.
Hussein also said that the presence of Turkish forces in the Kurdistan Region was an issue that would be discussed in meetings that will be held with Turkish officials.
Hussein also met with John Bass, Acting U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Bass has significant experience in the region. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey from 2014 to 2017 and then as Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2017 to 2020.