Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited the 800 Australian defence personnel serving at two operating bases in the Middle East, including the Taji base in Iraq.
Australian troops in Baghdad and at Taji have now trained more than 40,000 local Iraqi troops, according to the government.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison makes a pre-Christmas visit to Australian troops in Iraq. Source: AAP
Mr Morrison toured Australia’s main logistical hub in the Middle East and thanked soldiers for their service, particularly over the Christmas break.
He said it was his “great privilege” as prime minister.
“This is hard at the best of times and especially so at Christmas and we are thankful.”
It was Scott Morrison's first visit to the Middle East after taking on the top job in August.
A planned visit to Afghanistan was cancelled due to operational security reasons, on advice from the Chief of the Australian Defence Force.
Common enemy
The prime minister also met with Iraqi prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi for the first time.
The pair held a press conference and said they had discussed the ongoing fight against IS, as well as poverty in Iraq.
“Terrorism and poverty is a common enemy to our countries and people,” Mr Abdul-Mahdi said through a translator.
“We thank Australia.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Source: AAP
Tens of thousands of Australian soldiers have served in the region since 2001.
There are now about 800 Australian soldiers deployed in Iraq and Australia's main logistical hub in the Middle East.
Their focus has gradually shifted from delivering frontline training to mentoring Iraqi security forces.
Under their guidance, Iraqi supervisors now teach their own troops infantry skills such as cordoning, searching, ambushing and marksmanship.
Addressing special forces troops at a Baghdadi base, the prime minister conceded that while each had chosen to serve, many other major decisions were beyond their control.
"I would hate you to think that as you are doing that - and there are great days, and there are really difficult days - that on any of those days, you didn't know how much your country appreciated you."
With a wife and two kids back home in Brisbane, Captain Steve Moye was forced to reshuffle birthday parties and open Christmas presents early before he was shipped overseas.
Just how he will cope on Christmas remains to be seen. "We'll see how I go on the day."
Lance Corporal Manika Goode, a transport and logistics expert, will be leaning on her fellow troops come Christmas Day.
"We're all really close so it'll make it a lot easier," she said.
Handshakes and small talk gave way to brass bands and a bilateral meeting when Mr Morrison sat down with newly-elected Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi at his palace in Baghdad.
Mr Abdul-Mahdi stressed the need for ongoing security co-operation to liberate Iraq from the Islamic State terrorist organisation, and on improving economic relations to drive investment and jobs.
He described terrorism and poverty as "common enemies" of Iraq and its people.
"The stability of Iraq is the stability of the region, and the stability of the region would be stability for the whole world," Mr Adbul-Mahdi said.
Along with its contribution to an international effort to conquer Islamic State, Australia is a major contributor of humanitarian aid to Iraq.
Australia has supplied $180 million to Iraq between 2014 and 2020.
While Islamic State militants are largely suppressed in Iraq, the leaders did not canvass any significant reduction in the number of Australian troops or amount of aid.
Instead, they discussed how Australian aid could be better spent on reconstruction works and delivering essential services to all regions of Iraq.
"That's what will make them independent, free and sovereign," Mr Morrison told an AAP reporter who travelled with the prime minister to the Middle East.
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