SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Minister Abbasi, it's good to see you again and I'm glad to welcome you and your delegation to the Pentagon as we convene the inaugural U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue.

In March, I made my first visit to Iraq as Secretary of Defense, and when you and I met with Prime Minister Sudani, I invited him to send this delegation to Washington to take the next step in our strategic defense partnership.

I'm especially pleased that after just a few months, we can now host your delegation here at the Pentagon. In working together, the United States and Iraq have achieved significant milestones in support of Iraq -- Iraq's sovereignty and regional stability.

Through the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, we have liberated more than 50,000 square kilometers of territory and more than 4.5 million Iraqis have now been freed from the tyranny of ISIS.

Together, we are working to repatriate Iraqi origin fighters and families from Syria, which is crucial for the enduring defeat of ISIS. And today, U.S. and coalition forces continue to advise, assist, and enable the Iraqi Security Forces in the Iraqi-led fight against ISIS, at the invitation of the government of Iraq.

The United States stands with the people of Iraq as you build your secure and sovereign and economically vibrant nation. Now, we are proud of our accomplishments to support your forces and defend the Iraqi people, and that's especially true for me as a veteran of the Iraq War. But we recognize that our military mission will change as your forces build up their capabilities.

So the Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue reflects our maturing strategic partnership, building on the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue in July 2021, when U.S. forces with a combat role ended their mission. Our discussions today and tomorrow will outline the work that remains to achieve the enduring defeat of ISIS and the conditions under which the U.S. military mission will evolve. Our delegations will also agree on a path forward to advance our long-term defense partnership.

Once again, Mr. Minister, welcome to the Pentagon. We are absolutely delighted to have you.

DEFENSE MINISTER THABET MUHAMMAD AL-ABBASI (SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you very much, Your Excellency Secretary Austin. Once again, that March -- your visit to Baghdad was a great visit. We received our guidance from the Commander in Chief, the Prime Minister, based on a -- joint defense and all of the things being mentioned during that meeting.

We established a committee headed by me and the members of the two leaders that are attending the meetings with us today. Most of them, they are your friends in arms and you fought with them in our fight.

The guidance was clear to move forward with these dialogues and maintain the victories, we achieved -- our Security Forces -- with the support of the United States and coalition forces. And as part of these groups, they've been working with the help and support of General McFarlane and the Chief of Defense and the cultural advisors and then therefore, we came up with an agreement for the people who can all be here today in the United States.

And I wouldn't forget about the Ambassador -- the United States Ambassador in Baghdad, as well she played a big role of support on that. The most important now is to enhance the relationships and the cooperations between us and the United States moving forward.

As you see the big delegations, we attended peace meetings inside the Pentagon today. We are encouraged and we insist to come up with results that benefit both sides and both parties. Your Excellency, we are going to continue working today and tomorrow. We are very optimistic, we are very confident, with our teams in here, we are going to come up with great results.

What we did previously, it deserves to maintain it and work hard for it to keep it the way it is and enhance it as well. We achieved victories against ISIS together, so we have to maintain and keep this victory moving forward.

A few details, we've got to work hard on it, and we're going to achieve something out of that work. And then we are very encouraged we are not going to leave Washington without any success.

And once again, thank you very much for having us today, from you and from your great team, an amazing team that you have here with you today. Once again, thank you very much.

SEC. AUSTIN: Minister Abbasi, we're delighted to host you and I look forward to a great conversation.

Thanks, everybody.