Washington - D.C., USA (us.gov.krd) - Officials from the Kurdistan Region took part in the fourth round of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue in Washington as part of the Iraq delegation on Thursday and Friday.

Fawzi Hariri, Chief-of-Staff to the President of the Kurdistan Region, also took part in a bilateral meeting between Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Mr. Hariri, who is leading the Kurdistan Region delegation, said, ‘This final round of the strategic dialogue is pivotal to the future of Iraq. By working together, we can prevent terror from raising its head again.’

The U.S. Iraq strategic dialogue began last year under the Trump Administration and has continued under President Joe Biden. The Kurdistan Regional Government has participated in each round and contributed to the discussions on deepening and widening the relationship.

On Thursday, Brigadier General Hajar Ismail from the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs took part in the security technical talks at the Pentagon, which were led by Mara Karlin, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and briefly joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. The two sides reiterated the importance of the U.S.-Iraq bilateral security relationship, their shared commitment to fighting ISIS, and the need for the U.S. and Coalition to support Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga. Long-term US-Iraq security cooperation partnerships and other areas for cooperation were also discussed.

The other working groups of the Strategic Dialogue met at the State Department on Friday. Mr. Hariri, Minister Amanj Raheem, KRG Cabinet Secretary, Lawk Ahmed, Chief-of-Staff to the Vice President and KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman were in discussions that covered political and human rights issues, the Iraqi election, health, energy, climate, and higher education.

They discussed U.S. assistance to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, for example, the United States will provide $155million in additional humanitarian assistance. Although this was the final round of the Strategic Dialogue, the working groups will continue to meet and implement the various steps that were discussed.