Readout of Vice President Biden's Meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

This afternoon, Vice President Biden hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a one-on-one meeting that lasted two hours. The two spoke about the next steps in building a strong and enduring partnership between the United States and a unified, federal, and democratic Iraq.

Prime Minister Maliki outlined his efforts to pursue a holistic strategy to combat threats to Iraqi security, building on the lessons our countries have learned fighting terrorist groups together. In this regard, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of enlisting local leaders and the Sons of Iraq to isolate terrorist networks. The two leaders discussed how additional U.S. cooperation might help Iraq advance this strategy. The Vice President underscored America's commitment to Iraq's success in defeating al Qaeda and protecting its people.

The two leaders also discussed the importance of elections to consolidate Iraq's democracy, and the Vice President welcomed the Prime Minister's commitment to ensuring that parliamentary elections are held on time.

Tomorrow, Vice President Biden and Prime Minister Maliki will lead the U.S. and Iraqi delegations in a meeting of the Higher Coordinating Committee to discuss the implementation of the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.