BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday his government had made progress on all fronts and urged neighboring countries to work together to stop what he called ""evil"" from destabilizing the region.

Maliki was speaking a day before top U.S. officials in Iraq deliver a long-awaited assessment to the Democrat-controlled Congress on President George W. Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra soldiers to Iraq.
The reports by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker could influence any decision Bush takes on troop numbers amid demands from Democrats and some Republicans for U.S. forces to start leaving Iraq.
Addressing a meeting of officials from neighboring countries and Western powers such as the United States, Maliki said his government had made progress ""in all directions.""
""This government is working hard to develop the political situation. It has made many gains despite the huge destruction left by the former regime,"" Maliki said. ""We are at the beginning of the road, but at the same time, we say that what has been achieved is something promising.""
Senior Democrats in the United States have slammed Maliki's performance, with some even calling for his replacement.
The assessments by Petraeus and Crocker are expected to highlight a reduction in violence in Iraq but also note the country's failure to pass laws aimed at reconciling warring majority Shiites and Sunni Arabs.
Petraeus said in a letter to troops on Friday that the government's record on political reforms had been disappointing.
-------------Stand together
Maliki, referring to attackers including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, said all nations had a stake in making the region safer.
""Evil wants to strike this or that country, it will not stop at the border of one country. For this, we have to stand together as a wall in the face of this evil,"" Maliki said.
U.S. forces said on Sunday they had killed a militant linked to al Qaeda who masterminded truck bomb attacks on the minority Yazidi community last month that killed more than 400 people.
The purpose of Sunday's meeting is to review the work of several committees that were set up after a high-level conference in Egypt in May where ministers from the region and Western powers discussed ways to stabilize Iraq.
The committees have been looking at greater cooperation in security, energy and economic matters.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said discussions needed to include measures to tighten Iraq's borders so ""terrorists and killers"" cannot get into and out of the country.
""The fires lit (in Iraq) could reach other borders, which means those countries could be subject to the same risk,"" Zebari said, without naming any of Iraq's neighbors.
Fresh from his visit to Iraq where he raised the possibility of cutting troop levels, Bush said on Saturday he would address Americans next week to ""lay out a vision"" for the future U.S. role in Iraq after Petraeus and Crocker deliver their testimony. CNN said Bush would speak on Thursday.
Bush's administration has to give its own report to Congress by next Saturday.
One of the goals of Bush's seven-month-old troop ""surge"" was to give Iraq's divided leaders breathing space to reach a political compromise. U.S. troop numbers now stand at 168,000.
But differences run deep, with the ruling Shiite majority reluctant to cede too much power while Sunni Arabs dominant under Saddam Hussein feel marginalized. Leaders of Iraq's parliamentary blocs met on Sunday to try to resolve some issues blocking reconciliation, officials said.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of a Sunni Arab political party, said items to be discussed included proposed amendments to the constitution, a key demand of Sunni Arabs and the United States