Iraqi prime minister set to visit Washington on Monday on his 1st foreign trip

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali ​al-Zaidi will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with US officials on strengthening bilateral ties, with oil and gas deals expected to be signed during the trip, a government spokesman said Sunday.

Zaidi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, Haider al-Aboudi said in a statement carried by state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).

He said the Iraqi premier will meet US President Donald Trump during his trip.

During the visit, Iraq and the US are expected to sign "memorandums of understanding in the oil and gas sectors, including agreements to bring in specialized US companies to increase production capacity and develop alternative export routes to reduce the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz," Aboudi said.

The talks in Washington would also cover Iraq's ongoing efforts to place all weapons under exclusive state control, he added.

The visit will mark Zaidi's first foreign trip since taking office in May, when he succeeded Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.​​​​​​​