Al-Halbousi arrives in Washington and meets US Defense Secretary

 The Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halboosi met the US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan as the official reception ceremony conducted at the Pentagon.

‏At the beginning of the meeting, the US Secretary of Defense offered his condolences to the Iraqi people on the ferry incident, expressing his pain and sympathy with the victims, welcoming the visiting delegation, stressing the importance of developing relations and communication between Washington and Baghdad.

‏The meeting discussed bilateral relations and means of boosting cooperation in the security, military and economic fields.

‏"We are pleased to be here after the victory over terrorist ISIS with the help of friends, including the United States of America, and we highly appreciate the role of the international coalition in this field," H.E. the Speaker said, adding that Iraq had won militarily on the terrorist ISIS, but it is still need the continuous efforts and support to eliminate the cells of terrorism and extremist thoughts, by training the Iraqi forces and rehabilitating it in addition to the efforts of the intelligence and logistic support.

‏The meeting touched on the need for the efforts of the international community in the reconstruction and stability of the liberated areas and the return of the displaced, whom thousands of them are still in the camps of displacement, stressing the need to support the Iraqi government to provide services to these areas in order to close the file of displacement which will contribute positively to prevent the return of ISIS and its thoughts, as well as providing job opportunities through investment projects to eliminate unemployment.

‏H.E. added that the circumstances are more favourable than any time before the reconstruction of Iraq and it is best to invest this opportunity for the stability of Iraq, which will contribute to the stability of the region.

‏At the end of the meeting, Shanahan expressed his admiration for the Iraqi forces and their development, stressing the continued support for the government and the troops and to look forward to further cooperation between Baghdad and Washington for the sake of the two friendly peoples