Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will travel to Washington on Monday with a wide-ranging delegation for talks on security cooperation, energy, economic ties and investment opportunities between Iraq and the United States, Shafaq News learned on Sunday.
The delegation includes Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Finance Minister Faleh al-Sari, Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair, Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Wahib and Trade Minister Mustafa Nizar Jumaa.
It also includes lawmaker Amer al-Fayez, chairman of parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee; lawmaker Harem Kamal, chairman of the Oil and Gas Committee; and parliament member Mohammed Tamim. Cabinet Secretary-General Hamid al-Ghazi will also join the visit.
Among the other officials traveling with the prime minister are Central Bank Governor Nizar Nasser, National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Board Yousif Khalaf Yousif, Deputy Finance Minister Ali Karim Hussein and Defense Ministry Secretary-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Salim Bahjat.
The delegation further includes Communications and Media Commission Chairman Baligh Mithqal Abu Kulal, the prime minister’s foreign relations adviser Farhad Alaeddin, Director-General of International Relations at the Prime Minister’s Office Ambassador Krikor Bakram Der Hakobian, political adviser Abbas al-Amiri, and financial and banking adviser Saleh Mahmoud Salman.
Al-Zaidi’s office director and adviser Azhhar Hussein Saleh, along with Ambassador Hassanein Rashid al-Sheikh, head of the Prime Minister’s Office Coordination and Protocol Department, will also participate in the visit.
Other members of the delegation include Iraqi Media Network Chairman Abdul Karim Hamadi Abdul Sadah, Foreign Ministry Americas Department Director Ambassador Nizar al-Hakim, Prime Minister’s adviser Bakar Asaad Ali, media adviser Ali Sabah Karim Razuqi, Prime Minister’s Media Office Director Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi and media coordinator Adel Nima Najm.
An informed source previously told Shafaq News that the talks will cover investment agreements, energy projects, bilateral security, the future of US forces in Iraq, and efforts to bring armed factions under state control.
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