Sudani arrived in Washington on Saturday, marking his first visit to the US as the prime minister of Iraq. He was received by Biden in the Oval Office.
The two leaders stressed their commitment for comprehensive bilateral cooperation in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement, including political, economic, and security cooperation, according to a joint statement released following the meeting.
The Strategic Framework Agreement came into effect in 2009 and seeks to normalize Baghdad-Washington relations through long-term bilateral economic, diplomatic, cultural, and security cooperation.
The two leaders “discussed their shared view that the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is integral to Iraq’s overall prosperity and stability,” read the statement, adding that Biden commended Sudani and Erbil for reaching an agreement on resolving outstanding issues, including Baghdad’s financing of the Kurdistan Region’s payroll for the months of February and March.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court in February ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to submit a breakdown of the monthly budget for its payroll to the finance ministry so Baghdad could start paying the Region’s share from the federal budget, after Erbil’s repeated failure to provide the salaries on time.
The Region’s civil servants went unpaid for over 60 days after receiving their January salaries, but received both February and March salaries in the span of weeks after Erbil and Baghdad reached the agreement currently in place.
In March, Prime Minister Barzani was in Washington for meetings with State Department and Pentagon officials, as well as members of Congress to discuss important issues for Erbil, including outstanding problems with Baghdad. The Kurdish premier notably did not hold a meeting with Biden.
“The President [Biden] also affirmed U.S. support for strengthening democracy in Iraq, including free, fair, and transparent regional elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” the statement added.
The Kurdistan Region is set to hold parliamentary elections on June 10 after several delays. Holding the elections on its scheduled date could be jeopardized by the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) decision not to partake in the upcoming elections, citing rulings from the Iraqi top court that the party deemed as detrimental to the Region’s political entity.
The June 10 election will be unique in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary history, with fewer seats in the legislature, a new constituency system, and the poll being administered by the federal commission for the first time due to disagreements between the main Kurdish parties that resulted in a failure to renew the mandate of the regional electoral body as required by law.
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