US Secretary of State: Partnership with Iraq is much greater than the war against Daesh

Baghdad-INA 
Today, Friday, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stressed that the US partnership with Iraq is much greater than the war against the terrorist organization Daesh.
Blinken said, during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein, which was followed by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "We are proud of our partnership with Iraq and our close relations in the fight against terrorism," adding: "We are partners with Iraq in the war against Daesh terrorist gangs." He continued, "We are moving forward with our partnership with Iraq based on mutual respect and common interests.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein confirmed that the Iraqi government is moving confidently towards holding the elections on schedule, while stressing full respect for Iraq's sovereignty.
Hussein said in a speech that "Today, we are in the American capital, Washington, in response to the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Blinken, to hold the work of the Supreme Committee emanating from the strategic framework agreement for the relationship of friendship and cooperation between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America, which represents a continuation of the strategic dialogue. Since the launch of his first tour in June of last year.
He pointed out that "the round of dialogue comes as a continuation of the previous three rounds, which were held in succession, as it provides a clear vision of what characterizes the partnership and alliance relationship between Iraq and the United States and the serious efforts of the two governments to consolidate it. The first round was hypothetically on June 11, 2020, the second was held in Washington, DC, on August 19, 2020, and the third was held on April 7, 2021. In this meeting, we look forward to completing what was agreed upon in the third round of dialogue and moving forward to achieve more Progress in all dialogue sessions that will be held by the relevant committees.
And he stated that "these sessions represent a serious will for both countries to reach common understandings for cooperation in various sectors, and are a continuation of the agreements that resulted from previous rounds in sectors such as (oil and gas, electricity, financial, health, environmental, and cultural sectors) in addition to the security and military aspects.
Fouad Hussein stressed that "our security forces still need the programs provided by the United States of America, related to training, arming, equipping, and we seek to continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation. We also affirm the commitment of the Government of Iraq to protect the personnel of diplomatic missions, headquarters and facilities, and to ensure the security of Iraqi military bases hosting International Alliance forces.