Biden To Return From Final Congressional Trip Wednesday

January 14, 2009 5:52 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Vice President-elect Joseph Biden will return from his final trip as senator on Wednesday. Biden toured Southwest Asia, meeting with leaders including Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Biden is scheduled to arrive early Wednesday morning along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Three other senators had joined him earlier in the trip: Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI).

The Vice President-elect is the outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations panel. Kerry will take over the committee chairmanship after Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20.

Biden and Graham will brief President-elect Barack Obama at the transition headquarters in Washington, D.C.about their assessments following the week-long, fact-finding trip to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Pakistan.

Insurgent violence continued in Baghdad when Biden met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Monday and Al-Maliki the next day.

Al-Maliki's office issued a statement saying Biden had stressed the importance of cooperation between Iraq and the United States as the two nations try to implement the new security agreement, according to VOA.

The new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) requires that American combat forces withdraw from Iraq's cities, villages and localities by June 30, and all U.S. troops to leave the entire country by Dec. 31, 2011.