ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is set to visit France and Germany in early September, government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi told a presser on Monday, adding that the trip aims to strengthen Baghdad’s foreign relations.

“We announce that His Excellency the Prime Minister, Mr. Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, will undertake a European tour in the first half of September. This tour will include Paris and Berlin, in response to official invitations from the French Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany,” Aboudi told a press conference.

“This tour aims to expand partnerships and strengthen Iraq's presence as an active state that adopts cooperation as an approach in its regional and international relations,” the spokesperson added, without providing further details on the trip.

In July, Zaidi carried out his first overseas trip as prime minister with a five-day visit to the US, during which he met with US President Donald Trump and signed multiple agreements with American firms.

Days later, the Iraqi premier visited Tehran for meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Several memoranda of understandings (MoU) were signed with Tehran as well.

In late July, Zaidi also made a visit to Turkey where he oversaw the signing of a number of MoUs alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“In the realm of foreign relations, the Iraqi government has established a balanced policy and succeeded in creating an equation based on mutual interests, opening horizons for productive partnerships that advance Iraq's interests,” Aboudi said.