Kerry visits Iraq to back crisis-hit government

Baghdad : US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Baghdad on Friday to back Iraq's government as it battles jihadists, struggles with a financial crisis and attempts to carry out reforms.

Kerry will meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

He will "underscore our strong support for the Iraqi government as it addresses significant security, economic, and political challenges," Kirby said.

Kerry, who is visiting Iraq for the first time since 2014, will "discuss the (US-led) coalition's continued support for Iraqi-led efforts against" the Islamic State group, Kirby said.

The coalition is carrying out air strikes against IS, and is also providing training and arms to Iraqi forces.

Iraq is battling IS, which overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, and is also struggling with a financial crisis caused by plummeting world prices for oil, on which it relies for the vast majority of its revenues.

And Abadi is seeking to replace the current cabinet with a government of technocrats, a move that has faced opposition from powerful parties and politicians that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

Abadi has announced a series of reform measures aimed at curbing government waste and corruption, and improving abysmal public services, but has faced significant opposition behind the scenes, and little in the way of real, lasting change has been accomplished.

In February, the premier called for "fundamental" change and a cabinet including technocrats and academics, as opposed to the current lineup of party-affiliated ministers.

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who led an insurgency against US-led troops, organised a sit-in in the heart of Baghdad to keep up the pressure for reform, and Abadi presented the names of proposed candidates to parliament last week.

But some of Abadi's nominees have faced significant pressure to withdraw, and at least one has already done so.