Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, opportunities for American companies in Iraqi development projects, and the future of the Iraq-US relationship following the conclusion of the US military coalition presence in the country.
According to the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the talks covered oil sector cooperation, security and intelligence collaboration, and joint efforts to promote regional stability.
Speaking after the meeting in the Oval Office, Ali al-Zaidi said the visit aimed to build a strong economic partnership, noting that as the US military presence under the international coalition against ISIS draws to a close, the focus would shift to an economic presence through American companies. He said the relationship should be grounded in people-to-people ties supporting economic cooperation rather than military partnership.
Al-Zaidi described the partnership as a link between Iraq, one of the world’s oldest civilisations, and the United States as the heart of the global economy, emphasising that it would serve the interests of both peoples. He said Iraq needed a strategic partner of the scale of the United States to navigate its economic and technological challenges, and that planned development and economic cooperation would extend to the Kurdistan Region, Basra, Anbar, and all Iraqi governorates.
Trump said the United States had supported Iraq in the fight against ISIS and was backing the al-Zaidi government in reinforcing stability and the economic steps that underpin the bilateral partnership, highlighting Iraq’s significance in energy and the international economy.
