President Fuad Masum welcomed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Iraq on September 10, 2014. President Masum described the relationship between Iraq and the United States as one of strategic partners, and underlined the critical timing of the Secretary’s visit to the region, especially ahead of the upcoming General Assembly meeting in New York.
Secretary Kerry congratulated President Masum on his new position and the successful formation of Iraq’s government. He stressed that President Obama’s strategy in Iraq could not have been implemented without the courageous and important decisions made by Iraq’s new leaders to form the government.