UN chief says will continue to support Iraq in all fields

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Adil Abdul-Mahdi received on Tuesday a phone call from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, during which they discussed the latest domestic and regional developments.

In the phone call, Guterres congratulated Abdul-Mahdi on assuming Iraq’s prime minister post, stressing that the UN will continue to support Iraq in all fields, according to a statement by Abdul-Mahdi’s media office.

The UN will keep its programs running in Iraq to help it restore its stability and complete the reconstruction process there, Guterres added.

Abdul-Mahdi, meanwhile, stressed the importance of increasing the international community’s support for Iraq in the coming period in different fields, especially after the country achieved victory over terrorism.

The two sides also discussed the latest developments in Iraq and the region as well as means of satisfying aspirations of the Iraqi people.

Iraq’s newly-elected president Barham Salih named last week Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a new government.

Since the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein was toppled following the 2003 invasion, the country’s three largest ethnic-sectarian groups have shared the country’s highest positions, with the prime minister position held by a Shia politician, the speaker of parliament post by a Sunni, and the presidency by a Kurd.

Ending months of deadlock following inconclusive national elections in May, the new prime minister has one month to form a cabinet that will be presented to parliament for approval.