PHOTO: Washington Post
On January 8, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a surprise visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Habousi, President Barham Salih, and Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim.
Pompeo’s visit to Iraq was a part of a larger tour in the Middle East. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has planned to visit Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait from January 7 to 15.
The trip was announced after U.S. President Trump declared a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, citing full defeat of the Islamic State (IS) militants in the country.
In the meeting with Iraq, the Secretary emphasized U.S. support for the long-term bilateral partnership anchored by the Strategic Framework Agreement and the necessity of supporting Iraq’s democratic institutions, economic development, energy independence, and sovereignty.
The leaders also discussed partnership to ensure an enduring defeat of ISIS, expand U.S.-Iraq economic ties, support the new government’s efforts to protect Iraq’s sovereignty, and ensure security, stability, and prosperity to all Iraqis.
A day earlier in Jordan, Secretary Pompeo met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and held a press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nechirvan Barzani. The meeting involved discussions on bilateral cooperation, ways to expand the U.S.-Jordan partnership, security issues including Syria, and Jordanian-Iraqi trade.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
