US representative in UN Security Council: Washington will provide a financial grant to monitor the elections in Iraq

Baghdad - INA

The United States representative to the UN Security Council, Linda Thomas Greenfield, confirmed Washington's efforts to expand its relations with Iraq, while indicating that her country would provide a financial grant to monitor the elections.

Greenfield said during her speech at the UN Security Council in the council's session on Iraqi affairs, translated by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the recent visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to Washington and the steps of the strategic dialogue between the United States of America and Iraq herald the success of a new chapter of vital partnership relations." Noting that "the United States will expand its relations with Iraq to include a number of bilateral issues, including economic development, climate adaptation, public health, and human rights, to ensure a long-term, sustainable and strategic partnership."

Greenfield added, "Through this renewed commitment, the United States has donated more than 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that have been delivered to Iraq, and an additional $155 million in humanitarian assistance."

With regard to the electoral process in Iraq, Greenfield stated that "the United States will provide Iraq with a grant of $5.2 million for the election observation team in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, which comes after a previous US commitment of $9.7 million," stressing that "this indicates the confidence of the United States." full support of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), its impartiality, its expertise, and its serious commitment to a better future for Iraqis."

She also commended "the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq in documenting human rights violations and laying the foundations for appropriate accountability together," stressing "her country's support for the holding of free and fair elections in Iraq.".

The US and Iraqi delegations stressed, earlier, during the fourth round of the strategic dialogue between the two countries, that the security relationship will completely transform into the role of training, providing advice and assistance, exchanging intelligence information, and withdrawing US combat forces from Iraq by December 31, 2021.