Iraqi premier to visit US on Sept. 20

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani will visit the United States on Sept. 20, Iraqi media reported Sunday.

The Iraqi prime minister is expected to attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, according to Iraqi media reports.

Al-Sudani is also scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of UN meetings in New York.

Previously on Feb. 10, an Iraqi delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Washington. The delegation discussed a number of common issues and cooperation between the two countries with US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo.

According to the US Department of Defense, there are currently approximately 2,500 US troops in Iraq.

Moreover, the US continues to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the fight against ISIS (Daesh, as it is known in the region) according to a renewed deal that was initially signed in 2016 under the leadership of former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani.

The Kurdish forces, backed by the Coalition, have been fighting the extremist group since 2014. In 2017, they helped territorially defeat ISIS in Iraq. Despite being territorially defeated, ISIS has demonstrated a resurgence in the region through small-scale, guerilla warfare tactics.