Michael Rigas, the U.S. deputy secretary of state for management and resources, will travel to Israel, Turkey and Iraq from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
The trip advances the U.S. “commitment to advancing stability, security, religious freedom and prosperity across the region,” Foggy Bottom said.
In Israel, Rigas plans to visit Jerusalem and reaffirm the “ironclad” U.S.-Israel partnership, “while enhancing diplomatic facilities and ensuring that foreign assistance advances U.S. strategic interests,” the State Department said.
Rigas will also visit Istanbul, where he will celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, meet with ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and “attend meetings with his Turkish counterparts to advance the U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship,” the department said.
It added that the U.S. official will meet with Iraqi officials and tour U.S. diplomatic sites during his visit to Baghdad and Erbil, and inaugurate the consulate general in the latter city.
“Iraq has made significant progress,” Mark Savaya, U.S. envoy to the Republic of Iraq, said. “At the same time, we are carefully watching the process of forming the new government.”
“Let it be clear that the United States will not accept or permit any outside interference in shaping the new Iraqi government,” he added.
Savaya said that the United States and Iraq partnered in “joint efforts to defeat ISIS” and “strengthening regional stability,” and that “American companies, which have provided billions of dollars in top-tier equipment and support, remain key partners in boosting Iraq’s security and sovereignty.”
