ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday ahead of a regional security and development summit. Both leaders discussed the Islamic State (ISIS) and their coordination to ensure the group “can never resurge,” according to a joint statement. Heads of state from the US, six Arab Guld countries as well as Iraq, Jordan and Egypt have arrived in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah to attend the regional summit on Saturday. Biden and Kadhimi met hours before the summit started, discussing a range of topics such as the fight against ISIS, bilateral relations, formation of a new Iraqi government and strategic talks between both countries, according to the statement. Both leaders expressed their “determination to continue security coordination to ensure that ISIS can never resurge,” continued the statement, shared by the White House. ISIS controlled swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in 2014. A US-led global coalition was formed in the same year to support both countries in confronting the group. The coalition has provided military and financial support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces since then. ISIS was declared territorially defeated in both countries by 2019. “President Biden expressed appreciation for Iraq’s efforts to repatriate and rehabilitate Iraqi families and children as well as to prosecute Iraqi ISIS fighters from Syria and welcomed further cooperation to address this critical issue. Both leaders agreed that close cooperation on military and security issues and overall support for Iraq against terrorism was critical to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said the joint statement. ISIS continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. Lack of coordination between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas has been exploited by the group. Biden and Kadhimi also talked about the formation of a new government in Baghdad. Iraq held parliamentary elections on October 10 but the political parties have failed to elect a new president and prime minister for the country due to disagreements. Both leaders “reaffirmed the importance of forming a new Iraqi government responsive to the will of the Iraqi people and their respect for Iraq’s democracy and independence. President Biden underscored the importance the United States places on a stable, united, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq, to include Iraq’s Kurdistan region,” noted the statement.
