Prime Minister Al-Zaidi Returns to Baghdad Concluding UN General Assembly Visit

Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi returned to the capital Baghdad today, Saturday, following the conclusion of his working visit to New York, which included his participation in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. A statement issued by the Prime Minister's media office indicated that Al-Zaidi delivered Iraq's speech during his participation in the General Assembly proceedings and held a busy series of bilateral meetings. These encounters notably included U.S. President Donald Trump, Jordanian Monarch King Abdullah II, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Al-Zaidi also met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Kenyan President William Samoei, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. During his stay in New York, the Prime Minister also received Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, and Rwandan Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva. He further met with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Al-Zaidi participated in a multilateral meeting hosted at the invitation of the U.S. President. He also received the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCWA, the High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo, and the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour. In the context of strengthening economic relations, the Prime Minister attended and sponsored a roundtable meeting for representatives of American and Iraqi banks and received a delegation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. His economic engagements included meetings with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, a delegation from the American company HKN specializing in oil and gas field exploration and development, the President of the Middle East Institute for Research and Studies Stuart Jones, and representatives from several major companies operating in the energy, transportation, telecommunications, and technology sectors.