LONDON – According to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, US President Joe Biden will discover a stronger and more confident Iraq on his Middle East trip this week.
The prime minister wrote in Foreign Policy magazine that his country was now discovering “Iraqi solutions” to “Iraq’s problems,” and that he would meet Biden as the leader of a more “resilient” Iraq.
Al-Kadhimi used his essay to implore the US and other international partners to acknowledge and support Iraq’s post-war, post-Daesh accomplishments.
As part of his travel to Israel and Saudi Arabia, Biden will meet with numerous regional leaders in the Kingdom on Saturday, including Al-Kadhimi.
In his piece, Iraq’s Prime Minister praised the United States for its assistance and support in transitioning the country away from “three decades of Saddam Hussein’s cruel authoritarian reign” and toward a maturing, multiparty and multiethnic democracy.
He complimented the evolution of the Iraq-US relationship over the last two decades, saying it had shifted from one based on security and counter-terrorism to one centered on societal and economic growth in areas such as energy, environment, health, education, and culture.
He also agreed that, in the aftermath of the recent Iraqi elections, more needs to be done to entrench the democratic process in Iraqi public life.
Al-Kadhimi, on the other hand, stated that Iraqis had reason to be optimistic about their prospects following Daesh’s territorial defeat, and that their country was “proactive regionally and internationally,” and “no longer a passive member of the international community.”
Al-Kadhimi went on to say that Iraq was strengthening ties with regional allies such as Jordan, Egypt, and Gulf Cooperation Council members. He believes that growing ties are benefiting Iraq’s development.
As part of his regional visit, Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a meeting with senior officials. He told Israeli television that deploying military force to keep Iran from gaining nuclear weapons was a possibility “if that were the ultimate choice.”
Source: Arab News
