SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq and the United States are scheduled to hold a strategic dialogue on Wednesday on the withdrawal of remaining U.S. combat forces and other matters related to the bilateral ties.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he would meet his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Wednesday at the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue.
“We will review progress in every area of our broad and strategic partnership,” he said in a tweet.
In March, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the meetings would clarify that the U.S.-led Coalition forces were in Iraq for training and advising Iraqi forces so Islamic State (ISIS) cannot reconstitute.
“This will be an important opportunity to discuss our mutual interests across a range of fields from security to culture, trade, and climate,” she said.
The talks, which began in June under the Trump administration, would be the first under U.S. President Joe Biden, who assumed office in January.
So far, two sessions of strategic talks have been held – in June and August. Among the issues on the agenda laid out ahead of the talks were the presence of U.S. troops in the country, militia groups acting outside of state authority and Iraq’s dire economic crisis, according to AP.
According to the Pentagon, the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has dropped to about 2,500 over the past months.
