Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi is set to travel to Washington next month, his first official visit to the US since forming a government in May.
Baghdad is portraying the trip as a reset of bilateral ties and a push for economic investment, The National has learnt.
Mr Al Zaidi, 41, was appointed in late April as a compromise candidate after months of political wrangling. He has no political track record and did not take part in November's national elections. Instead, his wealth and public profile are built on a business empire that has thrived on lucrative government contracts.
In mid-May, the parliament endorsed most of his cabinet members. Some have yet to be appointed, such as ministers for defence, interior, labour and social affairs. There are also no ministers for culture, planning, youth and sport, migration and displacement.
A legislator and a government official confirmed to The National that the visit will take place around mid-July. The PM should submit the rest of his cabinet to parliament by the end of this month, a crucial step before the visit, they said.
Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi has confirmed to The National that the visit will take place in July, but did not elaborate on the agenda.
Mr Al Zaidi will discuss strengthening security and economic co-operation, the issue of placing weapons under state control, and attracting investment in energy and infrastructure, they added.
The visit aims to provide “political, economic, and security support for the new government, with high-level meetings scheduled at the White House and Congress,” said the lawmaker.
The PM will be accompanied by a delegation of Iraqi business leaders to “expand opportunities for joint investment and economic cooperation, mainly in energy”, he added.
“He will discuss visions and plans to take the economic co-operation with the US to a new level."
The visit follows months of US pressure that reshaped Iraq’s political leadership. In April, President Donald Trump congratulated Mr Al Zaidi on his nomination and invited him to Washington after the formation of his government. Mr Trump had publicly opposed the earlier candidacy of Nouri Al Maliki, calling him too close to Iran and threatening to cut US support if he returned to office.
An imminent deadline
The trip comes at a sensitive moment for US-Iraq security co-operation. Baghdad has set the end of September as the deadline for disarming Iran-backed militias, linking it to the end of the US-led coalition’s mission in Iraq.
Government spokesman Haider Al Aboodi said on Wednesday, “there is a time marker after which the reasons for unregulated weapons end, which is the end of September, the end of the International Coalition’s presence”. Under the 2024 agreement with Washington, coalition forces left federal Iraq in September 2025 and are set to withdraw from the Kurdistan region by September 2026.
Two prominent armed groups, Asaib Ahl Al Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, announced recently that they would hand over their weapons to the state. But hardline factions, including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba, have said they will not disarm until foreign troops leave.
Washington has made disarmament a condition for deeper defence and economic cooperation and opposes any role for militia-linked parties in the next government.
“This government has proved seriousness in dealing with disarmament of armed factions and fighting corruption,” an Iraqi official said, hoping for a positive outcome to the visit.
Mr Al Zaidi has sought to portray himself as a pragmatic leader focused on economic reform and anti-corruption. During recent meetings with business leaders, he stressed the fight against “corruption and extortion” and said his door was open to help resolve obstacles facing investors. A series of measures have been taken recently to tackle endemic corruption, including the arrest of the deputy oil minister for refining affairs.
The Washington visit will test whether Baghdad can balance US security demands with its political realities at home, and whether Mr Al Zaidi can translate US goodwill into investment and support for Iraq’s post-coalition transition.
Iraqi officials say the withdrawal of US forces will make it easier to dismantle pro-Tehran armed groups, but analysts say militia allegiance to Iran and illicit financial networks could complicate the process.
