Iraqi PM visits Washington to discuss ending US-led coalition’s presence

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has left Baghdad for an official visit to Washington to discuss the issues of ending the U.S.-led international coalition’s mission in Iraq, according to a statement by al-Sudani’s media office on Saturday.

During the visit, al-Sudani will hold a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, in which they will review the work of the joint Higher Military Commission (HMC), with an aim of setting a timeline for ending the coalition’s mission and for Iraq transiting to bilateral relations with the coalition member states, it said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Sudani noted that the meeting will also discuss issues and escalations in the Middle East region, focusing on joint efforts to promote calm and prevent the ongoing conflicts from widening, which could impact global stability, the statement added.

Al-Sudani’s visit came as Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition held several rounds of dialogues to discuss ending the coalition’s mission of fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq.

On Jan. 25, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Iraq and the United States agreed to form the HMC to end the international coalition’s mission in Iraq. The ministry added that after the coalition’s withdrawal, Iraq will move to comprehensive bilateral relations with the coalition countries at political, economic, cultural, security, and military levels.