Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani emphasized the importance of American companies entering the Iraqi market to support the private sector and create extensive job opportunities for the national workforce. He met with the acting US Ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Fagan, to discuss reducing the number of US forces at Ain al-Asad base and transitioning operations to a limited bilateral framework within the Kurdistan Region, in line with the current field realities, enhancing national sovereignty and reflecting the achieved security stability in the country. Both sides stressed the strong relationship between Iraq and the United States and their keenness to develop it in ways that serve mutual interests and strengthen cooperation in political, economic, and security fields.

They also highlighted that developing Iraq’s relations with its neighbors is a fundamental pillar in enhancing regional stability and helps consolidate the principles of good neighborliness, benefiting Iraq’s future and the peoples of the region.