Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that “the U.S. has proposed a Strategic Dialogue with the government of Iraq to be held in middle of June. With the global COVID-19 pandemic ranging and plummeting all revenues, threatening an Iraqi economic collapse, it’s important that our two governments work together to stop any reversal of the gains we’ve made in our efforts to defeat ISIS and stabilise the country”. “All strategic issues between our two countries will be on the agenda, including the future presence of the U.S forces in that country, and how best to support an independent and sovereign Iraq”, Pompeo added. He further opined: “a leader who is put forward, who’s prepared to engage in the reforms, that will build out a sovereign, independent Iraq on behalf of the Iraqi people and move away from the old sectarian model that ended up with terror and corruption – any leader that’s put forward that will do that [as prime minister], the U.S. is happy to support”.