ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq and Kuwait agreed to form a joint task force to address outstanding issues between the two countries and submit recommendations within 30 days, the Iraqi prime minister’s office said Saturday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session in New York on Tuesday.

The two sides agreed to “form a joint Iraqi-Kuwaiti task force responsible for reviewing outstanding issues, developing a roadmap to resolve them, and submitting joint recommendations to the leadership of both countries within a period not exceeding thirty 30 days,” according to a statement from Zaidi’s office.

The task force will hold ongoing meetings, alternating between Baghdad and Kuwait, until it completes its mission. The measure aims to “resolve outstanding issues and usher in a new phase of cooperation and partnership” between the two countries, the statement said.

The statement did not specify the outstanding issues, but one of the main disputes between Baghdad and Kuwait concerns the maritime border around the Khor Abdullah channel, which lies between the two countries.

The dispute intensified after Iraq annulled a 2012 agreement regulating navigation in the channel, citing constitutional problems with its approval.

In February, Iraq submitted a map of its maritime zones to the United Nations. Kuwait formally protested the move, saying the Iraqi coordinates encroached on Kuwaiti maritime territory.

The two countries also face unresolved issues over missing Kuwaiti nationals and property from Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

In 2025, Mohamed al-Hassan, then head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), called for efforts to be “redoubled” to locate the remains of around 300 Kuwaitis still missing in Iraq.

Hassan also stressed the importance of expediting the search for missing Kuwaiti property, “including the national archives of Kuwait,” taken during Iraq’s 1990 invasion.

Zaidi departed for New York early Monday to attend the 81st UNGA session and delivered his address on Friday evening.

During the General Assembly, he met with several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.