The Prime Minister's visit to Washington... developments and expectations, 8 APRIL

 The Prime Minister's visit to Washington... developments and expectations

 Political circles in Baghdad are awaiting the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani to Washington, scheduled for mid-April, which is considered the first of its kind for al-Sudani after he assumed the presidency of the government a year and a half ago.

The two sides expect that the visit will address important issues, including scheduling the foreign military presence in Iraq, supporting the government’s economic reforms, in addition to the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil, which is suffering from an ongoing crisis.

The political researcher, Mujasha Al-Tamimi, explained that the Sudanese visit will focus on “only two issues,” noting that the visit will focus on activating the strategic framework agreement signed with the United States in 2008, and requesting economic support for Iraq while providing guarantees to combat corruption and money laundering.

Al-Tamimi added that the visit will witness broad participation from businessmen and experts in the fields of economics and finance, with the aim of attracting more American companies to invest in the Iraqi market.

For his part, the academic and political researcher, Abdul Aziz Al-Issawi, confirmed that the visit will focus on scheduling the foreign presence in Iraq, and said that it comes at a very important time with the escalation of demands in this regard.

Al-Issawi added that the primary goal of the visit is to initiate actual steps for dialogue with the United States and the international coalition to schedule the foreign presence in Iraq, in addition to strengthening bilateral relations in the fields of economy, investment, education, culture, and energy.

The Iraqi Prime Minister's visit to Washington comes in light of increased political sensitivity, especially with the approaching US presidential elections, which may affect bilateral relations between the two countries

The visit is expected to witness further developments and fruitful talks, and may pave the way for strengthening relations between Baghdad and Washington in the near future. link