Iraqi prime minister is first among Arab leaders to receive call from US president
US President Joe Biden made his first call in the Arab world to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, expressing strong support for Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a call from US President Joe Biden on Feb. 23 — the first call from Biden to an Arab leader and the second call to the Middle East after Israel.
Discussions centered on bilateral relations, strengthening and developing partnerships, cooperation on supporting security and peace in the region, and continuing their partnership in fighting the Islamic State (IS), according to a tweet by Kadhimi.
Selecting Iraq as the first country to contact in the Arab world indicates that Iraq remains at the top of the US priority list in the Middle East.
This comes despite the fact that the United States is reducing its troops in Iraq as part of the US-Iraq strategic dialogue that began in 2020 to build a comprehensive framework between the two countries.
