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An American diplomat indicates the advantages of Fouad Hussein's visit to Washington and does not rule out the appearance of the Sudanese in the White House
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2023-02-25 12:27
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Shafaq News/ The former US ambassador to Iraq, Douglas Silliman, indicated, on Saturday, a number of positive issues that resulted from the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein's visit to Washington, suggesting that an invitation from the White House be sent to Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani to visit the United States of America.
Suleiman is the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and served as US ambassador to Iraq from September 2016 to 2018.
In his article, Silliman said, “Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, visited Washington February 9-15. As the first high-level representative of the new Iraqi prime minister, Muhammad al-Sudani, Hussein came to the United States seeking to broaden and deepen "Financial and economic relations" with the United States, stating that his focus on economic issues - not security - shows that US-Iraqi relations were "healthy" and had reached a new stage.
In addition to more pressure, a letter dated February 2 from the new chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Baghdad's relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government, and another letter dated February 10 from three other members of Congress, accused the Sudanese government of siding with the regime. Iranian complicity with money laundering operations carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq, and discrimination against Iraqi Kurds; The two letters showed that many figures in Washington remain focused on the negative — or at least the politically charged — aspects of relations with Iraq. From the Iraqi point of view, Hussein arrived in the wake of the currency crisis and the sharp decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar as a result of the application by the Central Bank of Iraq of the new controls imposed by the US Treasury on the exchange of dollars in the Iraqi market.
Silliman continued, "Hussein's choice to go to Washington was a wise choice due to his decades of political experience and friendship with high-ranking US officials in four US administrations. During his week-long visit, Hussein met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and envoy John Kerry, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Ademo, and other administration officials.Hussein, with Blinken, chaired the Cabinet-level High Coordination Committee for the US-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement, which National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also attended.Hussain has attended meetings in Congress, spoken to US business representatives, addressed think tanks, and appeared in US and international media.
And he added, "To refute Washington's powerful narrative about the Sudanese government's complicity in expanding Iranian influence in Iraq, Hussein pointed to the prime minister's actions that contradict Iranian goals in Iraq, especially his public statement in January about his support for the continued presence of US military forces in Iraq." ".
He explained, "Hussein came to Washington for several specific goals. First, he wanted to avoid imposing US sanctions on Iraq because of its dollar market, trade with Iran, importing natural gas and electricity from it, and business dealings with Russia. With regard to Iran, he achieved some success under the pretext that Iraq Need to obtain US dollars to carry out legitimate international trade, and that Iraq depends on Iran for more than 40% of its electricity production.US sanctions may cut off Iranian gas and electricity supplies, which could have catastrophic effects on Iraq and the region.At the time Himself, other members of his entourage worked with US Treasury and Federal Reserve officials to craft the technical details by which the CBI would monitor the final destination of US dollar deals in Iraq to bolster confidence in reducing US dollars reaching Iran.The strongly worded paragraph on currency markets in the HCC joint statement showed success in getting some flexibility from Washington, but also made it clear that the US expects a lot from Iraqi action.
Likewise, the delegation argued that Russia is an important part of the Iraqi economy, so Washington should ease restrictions on deals with Russia. For example, Russian oil giant Rosneft bought a 60 percent stake in an oil export pipeline. The main pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017, and in 2018 committed to financing the gas pipeline in the Kurdistan Region.However, it seems that Washington did not find the arguments for the need to show flexibility in deals with Russia convincing. The former US ambassador pointed out that "Hussein sought to obtain more investments from the US government and the private sector in order to acquire the large amount of gas that is burning in Iraq, and therefore, it is wasted. Hussein argued that Iraq spends $4 billion every year to import natural gas and electricity from Iran, and wants the support of the US government and the private sector to replace those imports, and use the money that is saved to provide services to the Iraqis. Some members of the entourage expressed their willingness to re-examine past gas acquisition deals that had faced political opposition or had disappeared within the Iraqi bureaucracy. The joint statement showed the US government's strong support for the continued development of Iraq's energy sector.
“Behind the scenes,” he said, “Hussein and his entourage sought to diminish the concerns of the administration and Congress that al-Sudani was the result of Iranian support. They argued that political support for the prime minister comes not only from pro-Iranian political parties, but also from the two main Kurdish parties, the Sunni parties, and the Christians.” In addition to Sudani's stated support for US forces, the Iraqi delegation pointed to Sudani's early policy focus on providing services to the Iraqis and taking steps to confront corruption. Washington, and argued that this matter would help the prime minister pursue policies such as economic and administrative reform that do not enjoy the support of pro-Iranian parties and militias.From the viewpoint of a high-ranking and trusted Iraqi Kurdish official, these arguments were not only a point of response to fears of Iranian hegemony and its militias in Baghdad, but also a tangible step Washington could take to bolster the prime minister's position against potential pro-Iranian rivals.
He pointed out, "Hussein's greatest achievement is simply putting Iraq back on the foreign policy map in a positive way. It appears that the senior US officials involved in the Supreme Coordination Committee, and the intense public debates that Hussein conducted on Iraq, have persuaded many in the US administration to review how to make progress on the objectives of The long-standing US policy of a prosperous, democratic and sovereign Iraq, following his visit, will need Baghdad and Washington to take concrete steps to build confidence.”On the Iraqi side, Baghdad must faithfully implement its commitments on the dollar market. To broaden the agenda beyond financial flow, Baghdad should consider repeating more trips to Washington by cabinet-level officials, particularly those with economic portfolios. It would be wise for Baghdad to select cabinet officials capable of convincingly arguing that Iraq is committed not only to signing a memorandum of understanding with the private sector, but also to doing business, perhaps with the full implementation of a number of test cases for notable businesses. Finally, tangible progress in addressing issues facing Iraqi minorities—particularly Iraqi Kurds, Yazidis, and Christians—could garner greater political support from Washington.
"While Washington remains skeptical, it should consider reciprocal visits by senior US officials, and call for more discussions of Baghdad's economic agenda, particularly with regard to gas acquisitions and climate issues," said the head of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. If Washington feels sufficient commitment from the Sudanese and his government to the agenda set by the foreign minister, it would not be out of the question to invite the prime minister to visit Washington.
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2023-02-25 12:27
Share
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Shafaq News/ The former US ambassador to Iraq, Douglas Silliman, indicated, on Saturday, a number of positive issues that resulted from the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein's visit to Washington, suggesting that an invitation from the White House be sent to Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani to visit the United States of America.
Suleiman is the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and served as US ambassador to Iraq from September 2016 to 2018.
In his article, Silliman said, “Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, visited Washington February 9-15. As the first high-level representative of the new Iraqi prime minister, Muhammad al-Sudani, Hussein came to the United States seeking to broaden and deepen "Financial and economic relations" with the United States, stating that his focus on economic issues - not security - shows that US-Iraqi relations were "healthy" and had reached a new stage.
In addition to more pressure, a letter dated February 2 from the new chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Baghdad's relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government, and another letter dated February 10 from three other members of Congress, accused the Sudanese government of siding with the regime. Iranian complicity with money laundering operations carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq, and discrimination against Iraqi Kurds; The two letters showed that many figures in Washington remain focused on the negative — or at least the politically charged — aspects of relations with Iraq. From the Iraqi point of view, Hussein arrived in the wake of the currency crisis and the sharp decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar as a result of the application by the Central Bank of Iraq of the new controls imposed by the US Treasury on the exchange of dollars in the Iraqi market.
Silliman continued, "Hussein's choice to go to Washington was a wise choice due to his decades of political experience and friendship with high-ranking US officials in four US administrations. During his week-long visit, Hussein met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and envoy John Kerry, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Ademo, and other administration officials.Hussein, with Blinken, chaired the Cabinet-level High Coordination Committee for the US-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement, which National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also attended.Hussain has attended meetings in Congress, spoken to US business representatives, addressed think tanks, and appeared in US and international media.
And he added, "To refute Washington's powerful narrative about the Sudanese government's complicity in expanding Iranian influence in Iraq, Hussein pointed to the prime minister's actions that contradict Iranian goals in Iraq, especially his public statement in January about his support for the continued presence of US military forces in Iraq." ".
He explained, "Hussein came to Washington for several specific goals. First, he wanted to avoid imposing US sanctions on Iraq because of its dollar market, trade with Iran, importing natural gas and electricity from it, and business dealings with Russia. With regard to Iran, he achieved some success under the pretext that Iraq Need to obtain US dollars to carry out legitimate international trade, and that Iraq depends on Iran for more than 40% of its electricity production.US sanctions may cut off Iranian gas and electricity supplies, which could have catastrophic effects on Iraq and the region.At the time Himself, other members of his entourage worked with US Treasury and Federal Reserve officials to craft the technical details by which the CBI would monitor the final destination of US dollar deals in Iraq to bolster confidence in reducing US dollars reaching Iran.The strongly worded paragraph on currency markets in the HCC joint statement showed success in getting some flexibility from Washington, but also made it clear that the US expects a lot from Iraqi action.
Likewise, the delegation argued that Russia is an important part of the Iraqi economy, so Washington should ease restrictions on deals with Russia. For example, Russian oil giant Rosneft bought a 60 percent stake in an oil export pipeline. The main pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017, and in 2018 committed to financing the gas pipeline in the Kurdistan Region.However, it seems that Washington did not find the arguments for the need to show flexibility in deals with Russia convincing. The former US ambassador pointed out that "Hussein sought to obtain more investments from the US government and the private sector in order to acquire the large amount of gas that is burning in Iraq, and therefore, it is wasted. Hussein argued that Iraq spends $4 billion every year to import natural gas and electricity from Iran, and wants the support of the US government and the private sector to replace those imports, and use the money that is saved to provide services to the Iraqis. Some members of the entourage expressed their willingness to re-examine past gas acquisition deals that had faced political opposition or had disappeared within the Iraqi bureaucracy. The joint statement showed the US government's strong support for the continued development of Iraq's energy sector.
“Behind the scenes,” he said, “Hussein and his entourage sought to diminish the concerns of the administration and Congress that al-Sudani was the result of Iranian support. They argued that political support for the prime minister comes not only from pro-Iranian political parties, but also from the two main Kurdish parties, the Sunni parties, and the Christians.” In addition to Sudani's stated support for US forces, the Iraqi delegation pointed to Sudani's early policy focus on providing services to the Iraqis and taking steps to confront corruption. Washington, and argued that this matter would help the prime minister pursue policies such as economic and administrative reform that do not enjoy the support of pro-Iranian parties and militias.From the viewpoint of a high-ranking and trusted Iraqi Kurdish official, these arguments were not only a point of response to fears of Iranian hegemony and its militias in Baghdad, but also a tangible step Washington could take to bolster the prime minister's position against potential pro-Iranian rivals.
He pointed out, "Hussein's greatest achievement is simply putting Iraq back on the foreign policy map in a positive way. It appears that the senior US officials involved in the Supreme Coordination Committee, and the intense public debates that Hussein conducted on Iraq, have persuaded many in the US administration to review how to make progress on the objectives of The long-standing US policy of a prosperous, democratic and sovereign Iraq, following his visit, will need Baghdad and Washington to take concrete steps to build confidence.”On the Iraqi side, Baghdad must faithfully implement its commitments on the dollar market. To broaden the agenda beyond financial flow, Baghdad should consider repeating more trips to Washington by cabinet-level officials, particularly those with economic portfolios. It would be wise for Baghdad to select cabinet officials capable of convincingly arguing that Iraq is committed not only to signing a memorandum of understanding with the private sector, but also to doing business, perhaps with the full implementation of a number of test cases for notable businesses. Finally, tangible progress in addressing issues facing Iraqi minorities—particularly Iraqi Kurds, Yazidis, and Christians—could garner greater political support from Washington.
"While Washington remains skeptical, it should consider reciprocal visits by senior US officials, and call for more discussions of Baghdad's economic agenda, particularly with regard to gas acquisitions and climate issues," said the head of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. If Washington feels sufficient commitment from the Sudanese and his government to the agenda set by the foreign minister, it would not be out of the question to invite the prime minister to visit Washington.
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