Zaidi meets US charge d’affaires to discuss bilateral ties and investment

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Sunday with Joshua Harris, the chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Iraq, to discuss bilateral cooperation and ways to expand relations between the two countries, according to the Prime Minister’s Media Office.

The two sides reviewed opportunities to develop cooperation in economic, investment and cultural fields based on “mutual respect and shared interests.” Al-Zaidi stressed the importance of continued engagement between Baghdad and Washington under the Strategic Framework Agreement and existing bilateral memoranda of understanding. The agreement, signed on Nov. 17, 2008, establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation in political, economic, cultural and security domains. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening partnership and coordination on bilateral and regional issues, emphasizing “dialogue and diplomacy.”

The meeting comes as Trump announced earlier Sunday that Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, will also serve as special presidential envoy to Iraq and Syria while remaining in his Ankara post.

Al-Zaidi took office following a confidence vote in which parliament approved 14 ministers. Several ministries remain unresolved, with confidence withheld from nominees for planning, higher education, interior, construction and housing, and culture. Voting on defense, labor, migration and youth and sports was postponed pending further political agreements.