Iraqi, U.S. officials meet on ties, regional stability

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met here on Tuesday with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues.

The two sides reviewed frameworks for cooperation in political, economic and security fields, as well as regional challenges including the situations in Syria and Iran, stressing the need to reduce tensions and enhance stability, read a statement from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Hussein stressed Iraq's role in supporting regional stabilization efforts and outlined its post-election political developments. He highlighted the importance of forming a new government "within the constitutional timelines" to ensure a functioning democratic process, read the statement.

Hussein welcomed the upcoming opening of the new U.S. Consulate General in Erbil, the capital city of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, and called for the reopening of the consulate in Basra, a port city in southern Iraq, read the statement.

He also urged expanding bilateral cooperation in economy, infrastructure and investment, encouraging the return of U.S. companies to invest in Iraq, and reviewing U.S. travel warnings to Iraq, read the statement.

For his part, Rigas expressed U.S. appreciation for Iraq's progress in strengthening stability, and affirmed Washington's support for these efforts, underscoring the importance of continued bilateral coordination, read the statement.

According to the U.S. State Department, Rigas will later visit Erbil to inaugurate the new U.S. consulate general there, which is reportedly Washington's largest diplomatic facility in the Middle East and said to demonstrate its commitment to the Kurdistan region.