Iraqi Prime Minister set off to Washington for the first time as the leader of a country virtually empty of foreign occupation troops as the US withdrawal from Iraq nears its final days

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki set off to Washington on Sunday, for the first time as the leader of a country virtually empty of foreign occupation troops as the US withdrawal from Iraq nears its final days.
  
Maliki is to hold wide-ranging talks with US President Barack Obama during his two-day visit, which comes less than a month before the complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and more than eight years after the launch of the US-led invasion.
  
"This will be the first visit where he is going as the chief of a country empty of foreign troops that can count totally on itself," Ali Mussawi, media advisor to Maliki, told AFP. "We will discuss all the fields of collaboration ... and open a new phase of relations between Baghdad and Washington, which used to be dominated by military affairs."
  
Maliki was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, acting Defense Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi, Transport Minister Khayrullah Hassan Babakir, Trade Minister Hadi al-Ameri, and National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh. Also on the trip are National Investment Commission chief Sami al-Araji, and Maliki's chief adviser and former oil minister Thamer al-Ghadban.
  
The Iraqi premier is to hold talks with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and US lawmakers, on issues including security, energy, education and justice.
  
"The two leaders will hold talks on the removal of US military forces from Iraq, and our efforts to start a new chapter in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
  
"The president honors the sacrifices and achievements of all those who have served in Iraq, and of the Iraqi people, to reach this moment full of promise for an enduring US-Iraq friendship, as we end America's war in Iraq."