The Premier’s office said in a statement that Abdul Mahdi officially became Prime Minister of Iraq after parliament approved a majority of his cabinet nominees.

The meeting came after former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi transferred power to Abdul Mahdi in an inauguration ceremony on Thursday, NRT reported.

“There are several issues in front of us such as services and corruption that we must tackle,” Mahdi said during the inauguration ceremony.

Special Presidential Envoy for Global Coalition to Defeat Islamic State Brett McGurk met with Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad, saying that the United States looks forward to working with the new government under the newly inaugurated premier’s leadership.

“Substantive meeting with new #Iraq Prime Minister @AdilAbdAlMahdi on his first morning in the job in #Baghdad. We look forward to working closely with Iraq’s new government under PM Mahdi’s leadership and strengthening our partnership under the Strategic Framework Agreement,” McGurk tweeted.

Despite welcoming the confirmation of Abdul Mahdi, UN envoy to Iraq Jan Kubis expressed concern over the lack of female representation in the new cabinet.

“I reiterate that the new government should work hard to meet the aspirations and expectations of the Iraqi people,” Kubis said.

“I am disappointed, however, about the lack of representation this far of women in the new Cabinet. There are excellent, well qualified and experienced females active in the political life, professional positions and civil society of Iraq who should be strong candidates for many of the ministerial roles; ignoring their potential is to miss important opportunities for Iraq.”

The parliament approved fourteen nominees to the new cabinet on Wednesday evening, leaving a number of important posts unfilled.

Reporter’s code: 50101