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Secretary Panetta, who was sworn into his new office on 1 July 2011, came to the Region as part of a mission to meet Iraqi leaders about filling key defence positions in the federal government, reducing the recent increase in violent attacks, and requesting a speedy decision on whether the Iraqi government will ask for US troops to stay beyond this December.
In a meeting with the President that was also attended by KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih and Deputy Prime Minister Azad Barwari, the new Secretary of Defence said, “The reason I am here is to seek your assistance and leadership in overcoming the challenges facing Iraq.”
He expressed his appreciation to President Barzani for his efforts to help form the current Iraqi government, and asked him to renew those efforts in order to help the various blocks in the federal government reach a compromise that will allow the top security positions of the country to be filled.
Mr Panetta also said he is pleased that there is now a full US Consulate General in the Kurdistan Region, and expressed his hope that it would serve to encourage US companies to invest in the area. He assured President Barzani that the US views the Region as a friend, commenting on the strong bonds that unite them and expressing his confidence that the relationship will continue to flourish.
President Barzani said, “The people of Iraqi Kurdistan greatly appreciate the sacrifices the United States has made liberating them from dictatorship and tyranny. Our people have also made great sacrifices for the new Iraq and it is in light of this that I will do whatever I can to ensure we overcome the challenges facing the country.”
They discussed the upcoming US troop withdrawal and the recent changes that have swept the wider region and the effects that these events would have on the future relationship between the US, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region. They exchanged views on the growth rate and economic situation in the Kurdistan Region as well as reconstruction, and ways to further improve mutual relations.
President Barzani’s Chief of Staff, Dr Fuad Hussein, the KRG Head of the Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa Bakir, US Consul General Alex Laskaris, and US Deputy Consul Patrick Hanish greeted Secretary Panetta at Erbil International Airport and escorted him to the meeting.
Accompanying the Secretary of Defence to the Region was US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey, General Lloyd James Austin III, Lt. Gen. John Kelly, as well as a number of other senior military and government officials. Also present in the meetings from the KRG were the Minister for the Interior Karim Sinjari, the Minister of Peshmerga Affairs Jafar Mustafa Ali, the President’s Chief of Staff Dr Fuad Hussein, and the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa Bakir.
