High-Level Iraqi Delegation Concludes Washington Visit with Extensive Understandings, Agreements

Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and his accompanying high-level delegation concluded a five-day official visit to the United States of America, from July 13 to 17, 2026. The visit focused on launching a comprehensive and diversified economic partnership aimed at supporting the Iraqi economy, expanding investment opportunities, revitalizing the local labor market, and fostering resource diversification. It also sought to enable Iraq to open new channels for crude oil export and enhance its production and refining capabilities. The visit encompassed significant engagements and outcomes, including Prime Minister Al-Zaidi's visit to the White House and a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, where both sides agreed on a comprehensive strategic economic partnership. Al-Zaidi also received the President's Special Representative, Ambassador Tom Barrack. In the security and military sphere, the delegation visited the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters, where discussions were held on bilateral security and military relations, emphasizing further intelligence cooperation. On the financial front, the delegation met with the U.S. Treasury Secretary to discuss bilateral financial cooperation and banking sector reform. The delegation also met with the CEO of the International Finance Corporation (DFC), exploring expanded partnership in financing and supporting the digital economy. The visit also included meetings with several former U.S. ambassadors to Iraq to review the trajectory of bilateral relations, in addition to receiving the Jordanian Foreign Minister at the delegation's residence and accepting an invitation from the Jordanian Monarch to visit the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. At the congressional level, the delegation visited both the Senate and the House of Representatives, meeting with the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They also met with Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and Roger Wicker, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Additionally, they received Senator Ted Budd and Senator Tom Sheehy, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Key meetings also included prominent international economic figures such as Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, and Makhtar Diop, CEO of the International Finance Corporation. Economically and investment-wise, Houston, Texas, was a significant stop. The delegation met with the management of Chevron Corporation and the American KBR company. Prime Minister Al-Zaidi also attended the Economic and Investment Dialogue hosted by the Bilateral Chamber of Commerce in Houston, where plans for "Energy City" projects in the Al-Faw Peninsula were announced. In Houston, the delegation met with representatives from Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Honeywell, and Weatherford, discussing partnerships in developing Iraq's public and private sectors. The delegation also convened with ExxonMobil management and participated in the Business Summit organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, they met with representatives from HKN, GE Vernova, FanTV, Google, Commerce, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright. Among the most notable outcomes of the visit was the facilitation of 48 agreements, memorandums of understanding, and economic cooperation initiatives between Iraqi public and private sectors and various American oil, industrial, technological, and financial sectors. The delegation received the CEO of Starlink, the CEO of Excelerate Energy, representatives of the British Petroleum and ConocoPhillips consortium, and representatives from JP Morgan Bank. An agreement between the Central Bank of Iraq and the U.S. Treasury was facilitated to reinstate seven Iraqi banks to operate within the external correspondent banking channel. The delegation also oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Oil and the Syrian side regarding the establishment of a crude oil export pipeline from the Mediterranean Sea via Syrian ports. The visit concluded with receptions for Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, as well as representatives and members of the Iraqi diaspora from various U.S. states and cities, Iraqi businessmen, investors, and scholarship students.