AFP - Vice President Joe Biden, who is in charge of ensuring a tight focus on Iraq as US troops prepare to withdraw, met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday, the White House said.

Maliki was in the United States to attend a US-Iraq Business and Investment conference, which Biden said would play an important part in evolving US-Iraqi relations, according to a statement issued by his office.

"The Vice President also encouraged the Iraqi Council of Representatives to act expeditiously on an election law that will set the terms for transparent political participation in the upcoming Iraqi national elections," the statement said.

Biden said during a visit to Iraq last month that the parliamentary election scheduled for January was critical to Iraq's future.

Just over a month after taking office, on February 27, President Barack Obama ordered that all US combat troops be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August 2010 and for all American soldiers to be out of the country by the end of 2011.

The US-Iraq Business conference to be held in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, will offer US firms the chance to learn about trade and investment opportunities in the country as it recovers from years of war and unrest.