US, Iraqi presidents meet at UN General Assembly; Biden affirms US commitment to Iraq
WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – US President Joe Biden and Iraqi President Barham Salih met in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the opening of the UN General Assembly.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein participated in the meeting.
“Biden stressed the US commitment to Iraq’s long-term stability,” according to a White House readout of the meeting.
The two leaders also “reaffirmed their respect for Iraq’s democracy, rule of law, and efforts to hold credible and transparent elections this October,” it said.
Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have repeatedly affirmed the importance of those elections and called on all Iraqi citizens, including Kurds, to participate in the voting.
Most recently, the KRG Representative in Washington, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, told Kurdistan 24: “These elections are very important for all of us—for Kurdistan, for the Kurdish parties, for the Iraqi parties, Arab parties, and others,” and, “of course, also for the United States and the international community.”
Read More: KRG Representative in Washington: It’s crucial for Kurds, Iraqis to vote in elections
The two presidents “discussed strengthening” their “bilateral relationship and deepening cooperation on regional diplomatic initiatives,” the White House said.
In particular, Biden “lauded recent initiatives such as the Baghdad Regional Summit and the historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq.”
The White House characterized them “as an important symbol of Iraq’s contributions to regional stability and interfaith tolerance” (although most of Iraq’s Christians now live in the Kurdistan Region.)
Read More: Vast majority of Iraq’s remaining Christians live in Kurdistan Region: KRG Official
Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s Regional Diplomacy
Relations between Iraq and the Gulf Arabs long remained strained. However, that has changed significantly under Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
On August 22, Kadhimi visited Kuwait in preparation for a regional conference.
Read More: Iraqi PM arrives in Kuwait ahead of regional Baghdad summit
On August 28, Iraq hosted the “Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership,” which was attended by senior officials from ten other countries and regional organizations.
In addition to French President Emmanuel Macron, they included Jordanian King Abdullah II; Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi; Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sabah Khaled al-Sabah; UAE Prime Minister and Defense Minister, as well as ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum; Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud; Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu; and Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian; as well as Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul al-Ghaith; and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Nayef Falah al-Hajraf.
Read More: Nine countries partake in Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership
Repairing Relations with the Gulf Arabs
Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In February 1991, following six weeks of war, the US succeeded in driving Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, but it ended that conflict with Saddam Hussein still in power—although that had not been President George H.W. Bush’s intent.
Even after the US ousted Saddam in 2003, however, tensions persisted. Only in 2019, did Iraq begin returning Kuwait property that it had seized during its 1990-91 occupation. As recently as last March, Iraq carried out a third such shipment, consisting of tons of Kuwait’s archives, which it returned to that country.
Read More: Tons of Kuwaiti archives, stolen by former Iraqi regime, arrive home
In addition, Baghdad is still repatriating the remains of Kuwaitis who died during the occupation and ensuing war. Over 600 Kuwaitis are missing from that time, according to the Kuwaiti government. It is unclear why any remains were taken out of Kuwait to Iraq, but in August, the most recent such transfer was made.
Read More: Iraq transfers remains of 48 people missing for decades to Kuwait
On September 16, Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein attended a GCC Foreign Minister’s conference in Riyadh and met on the sidelines of the conference with the Saudi Foreign Minister.
Although the KRG is not represented in the Iraqi delegation in New York, both Barham Salih and Fuad Hussein are Kurdish.
In fact, Salih met with the KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani shortly before leaving for New York and, presumably, they discussed events and meetings associated with the opening of the UN General Assembly.