On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Tamim.
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NewsTranscript
00:00UNDER SECRETARY NOVELLI Hi, good morning everyone.
00:08Welcome to the 8th U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee Session.
00:13It's my honor to introduce Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
00:17UNDER SECRETARY BLINKEN Well, good morning everyone, and so good
00:21to see you all here today.
00:25Before getting to the HTC, let me just comment briefly on the events of the last few days.
00:32Over the weekend, as you know, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel.
00:37This was an attack unprecedented in its scope and in its scale – in its scope because
00:44it represented the first direct attack by Iran on Israel, and its scale because, as
00:51I said, there were more than 300 munitions fired, including ballistic missiles, as well
00:57as land-attack cruise missiles and drones.
01:01Thanks to Israeli air defenses, as well as support from other countries, including U.S.
01:07military assets, virtually all of the incoming projectiles were destroyed and shot down.
01:15As President Biden underscored to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the U.S. is committed – committed
01:22to Israel's defense.
01:25And I think what this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not
01:30have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of an aggression, the victim of an attack.
01:37In the 36 hours since, we have been coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation
01:45Strength and wisdom need to be the same sides – the different sides of the same coin.
01:52I've been in close communication with counterparts in the region, and we will continue to do
01:57so in the hours and days ahead.
02:01We don't seek escalation, but we'll continue to support the defense of Israel and to protect
02:07our personnel in the region.
02:10Now, for today, let me say how pleased we are to welcome our Iraqi colleagues here to
02:15Washington, and I'm particularly glad to have the deputy prime minister here with us
02:19this morning to kick off what is the second U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordination Committee with
02:25the Sudanese Government.
02:27We just had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Sudani.
02:30I'm grateful to him for receiving us this morning, and of course, we look forward to
02:33a meeting shortly between the prime minister and the president.
02:37But I think everything we're seeing today highlights the importance, the value we attach
02:44to the relationship between the United States and Iraq, a partnership that's genuinely
02:50360 degrees in everything that it covers in bringing us together.
02:57Prime Minister's visit to Houston and to Detroit is another indication of the breadth
03:01and depth of the relationship not only between our countries but also between our people.
03:08Through the HCC and the meetings today, we are working to strengthen and expand that
03:14360-degree partnership.
03:16We're focusing on a half a dozen issues, including energy security, democracy, the rule of law,
03:23climate, and water.
03:26The American private sector remains very interested in engaging, in investing, in lending
03:34its expertise to Iraq, especially when it comes to energy.
03:39Through these efforts, we look forward to helping advance the prime minister's affirmative
03:42agenda and seeing Iraq succeed.
03:46So this HCC carries forward the vision of a long-term relationship of cooperation and
03:55friendship that was laid out in the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement.
04:01Our mission today, our goal today, is to make concrete progress on that vision, to continue
04:06to transform it into reality, and a reality that benefits people in Iraq, benefits people
04:11in the United States, benefits people in the region.
04:14And with that, it's a great pleasure to welcome Minister Tamim and to have you here today.
04:19Mr. Minister.
04:20MINISTER TAMIM AL-JUBEIRI In the name of God, the most merciful, the
04:35most gracious, ladies and gentlemen, peace be upon you, all of you.
04:41Your Excellency Secretary Tony Blinken, the Secretary of the United States, Department
04:48of State.
04:49Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my gratitude and thanks for the warm reception,
04:56and I hope today we'll achieve results that will be in the interest of both nations.
05:04Excellency Blinken, the Higher Coordinated Committee that is announcing meetings of these
05:16side sessions that will contribute in transforming our relationship, strategic relationship,
05:24to a different phase that will activate the Strategic Framework Agreement that will align
05:32with the services, government, led by our Prime Minister al-Sudani, where we are intending
05:38to reform financial and political policies and to go towards to energy independence,
05:47conduct partnerships with the regional countries and the world.
05:52Your Excellency Secretary, the Middle East today is living exceptional circumstances
05:58that has repercussions on our nations, and we hope escalations and tensions in the area
06:04will end.
06:05The government of Iraq is warning about escalation and the area to be dragged into a wider war
06:12that will threaten international security and safety, and therefore we call on all parties
06:17for self-restraint and to respect the rules of diplomatic works and also international
06:25laws.
06:26And we seek that these sessions, it will be the beginning of putting the foundations to
06:33work effectively through this Higher Committee so that we'll continue our ongoing bilateral
06:43relations and meetings, and we're going to focus on energy, investment, education, climate
06:48change, health, transportation, and water, and also to strengthen democracy and human
06:55rights protections.
06:56And this is a new launching of a new phase to implement the articles of the Strategic
07:04Framework Agreement.
07:07The government of Iraq is working to – for the prosperity of the Iraqi people, at the
07:14same time to pay the debts of the Iraqi nation, and especially when it comes to the different
07:23phases of the energy sector, and use new technologies and modernization of our energy
07:30sector to reduce also pollution.
07:32The Iraqi Government is widening its partnership and conducting agreements so that we'll
07:38be able to, for example, use technologies to capture flaring gas, to create and achieve
07:45independence in energy, and also to invest in other resource sources of energy, including
07:52renewables and solar energy.
07:54The Iraqi Government is also seek – government seeking to diversify its economy through activating
08:04the domestic industry and the governmental enterprises to adopt a profitable model to
08:13make the Iraqi economy open to the international market by inviting tourism, agriculture, and
08:23also creating industrial hubs and zones that will really push Iraq to a prosperous economical
08:31horizons, with a partnership with the United States and the European Union and other friendly
08:37countries to incentivize our economy and to adopt a new economy that is dependent on free
08:47market and investing in major industrial projects.
08:52To conclude, all I can say is to reaffirm our recognition and appreciation for the joint
08:58and mutual efforts to take our relationship to a different phase and a different page
09:05of partnership between the two friendly nations.
09:08Thank you, Secretary Blinken and everyone here present.
09:12Thank you, and peace be upon you all.
09:14SECRETARY BLINKEN And thank you, Mr. Secretary and Mr. Minister
09:20for your remarks.
09:21If I could please ask the delegations to stay seated while they depart and invite our press
09:26colleagues also to depart the room.
09:30Thank you to our press colleagues.
09:32Thank you.