Foreign Minister Murray McCully is on his way back to New Zealand from Iraq after a trip there to negotiate an agreement on the terms of deployment for 143 New Zealand military trainers in May.
Mr McCully held talks with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari.
He issued a statement only today after leaving Iraq, for security reasons.
He is due back today and will report to Prime Minister and cabinet.
While it is not expected to be a traditional state of forces agreement, he is likely to have secured legal protection for New Zealand Defence Force personnel who injure or kill others in self-defence.
The two-year deployment is a non-combat mission to train Iraqi soldiers in their fight against Islamic State (ISIS). The New Zealanders will not be allowed to initiate offensive maneuvers or accompany Iraqi soldiers on such forays.
They will be based at Taji base, about 30km from Baghdad.
