Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Concludes his Official Visit to Washington DC

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein concluded his official visit to Washington DC, which started on Thursday 24 April 2025. The visit included a series of high-level meetings with a number of senior U.S. officials and research and media institutions representatives. 

On Friday, April 25, the Minister met with his American counterpart, Mr. Marco Rubio, at the U.S. Department of State headquarters, as the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation especially in the political, security, and economic areas. During the meeting, Minister Hussein underlined the importance of reviewing U.S. security warnings regarding travel to Iraq.

Additionally, the  Minister held meetings with a number of senior officials and experts, including Mr. Tim Lenderking, Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and Ms. Victoria Taylor, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran, as they discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them. 

On Saturday 26 April, Minister Hussein received Mr. Douglas Silliman, President of the Arab Gulf States Institute and former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, and Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad  the former U.S. Ambassador, as well as a number of prominent figures in the fields of politics, media, and energy, including Ms. Barbara Leaf, Mr. Kenneth M. Pollack, Mr. Michael Gordon, Mr. Mark Rowland, Mr. Matthew Zais, Dr. Aizen Marrogi, Mr. Andrew Parasiliti, and former US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina L. Romanowski. 

As part of his diplomatic activities, the Minister visited the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Washington DC, on 28 April, and met with the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Nazar Al Khirullah and the Embassy, briefing them on the progress of work and efforts made to strengthen Iraq-U.S. relations. In addition the Minister participated in two roundtable discussions organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Middle East Institute (MEI), attended by a group of researchers and experts, the discussions addressed regional developments, Iraq’s growing role in the region, and the future of relations between Baghdad and Washington.

On Tuesday 29 April, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz received Minister Fuad Hussein at the White House, with the attendance of a number of senior officials. The discussions discussed the security situation in the region and common challenges. The Minister also met with Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Dr. Michael Faulkender, as the two sides discussed Iraq’s energy situation and the Iraqi government’s efforts to achieve energy independence. On the sidelines of the visit the Minister gave interviews to a number of prominent media outlets, including El Sharq TV, Bloomberg, Sky News, Al Iraqiya, Rudaw, and Kurdistan 24, during which he touched on Iraq’s most prominent positions on regional and international issues. 

At the end of his visit, the Minister held a roundtable discussion with a group of journalists and correspondents from American media outlets at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, the discussion was attended by Ambassador Nazar Al Khirullah, members of the accompanying delegation, and the Embassy staff, as the Minister reviewed the most important outcomes of his visit and the prospects for Iraq-U.S. relations in the next stage.