Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, welcomed the resumption of work of the Higher Military Commission (HMC.)

" We welcome the agreement reached between the Iraqi Federal Government and the U.S. Government to resume the work of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC), the progress made in the discussions on the bilateral relationship, and the future of the collaborative efforts in the political, economic, cultural, security, and military spheres." President Barzani said in a statement.

Barzani expressed Kurdistan's support for the agreement, pledging that Erbil "remains committed to upholding peace, security, stability, and the sovereignty of the country. Furthermore, we aim to foster relationships built on mutual respect and shared interests."

Earlier today, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of Defence revealed in separate statements that the U.S. and Iraqi officials will start working group meetings of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission in the coming days as part of a planned process both countries committed to last August and is not connected to recent tensions with Iranian-backed groups.

Expert working groups of military and defense professionals will examine the threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements, and the Iraqi security forces' capability levels.