The pact will help Iraq to benefit from UK private sector expertise on water, energy, telecoms and defence infrastructure, and to secure future investment projects in the clean energy
Iraq and Britain on Tuesday signed a “landmark” partnership and co-operation agreement that includes a trade package worth up to £12.3 billion ($14.98 billion) and a bilateral defence deal, the Iraqi and British prime ministers said in a joint statement.
The wide-ranging deal, envisaging more than 10 times the total of bilateral trade in 2024, was announced after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and British leader Keir Starmer in London.
“The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the vision of a prosperous, sovereign Iraq through a new partnership focused on trade and investment, deepening educational and cultural ties, as well as tackling security, migration and climate-change challenges,” according to the statement.
The pact will help Iraq to benefit from UK private sector expertise on water, energy, telecoms and defence infrastructure, and to secure future investment projects in the clean energy, pharmaceutical, logistics and financial services sectors, it said.
It includes a £1.2 billion project in which British-made power transmission systems will be used for a grid interconnection project between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and a £500 million plan to upgrade Al Qayyarah airbase in northern Iraq, according to the statement.
A water infrastructure project by a UK-led consortium that will help provide clean water in arid southern and western Iraq is also part of the deal, it added. The project would be worth up to £5.3 billion in UK exports.
A UK company will build the Basra Water Project, large-scale infrastructure for desalination and water processing plants to provide clean water for three million Iraqis in the southern province, worth up to £3.3 billion. British companies have been appointed to remove mines, the legacy of decades of war across all of Iraq in a contract worth £330 million.
Both prime ministers also signed the Joint Statement on the Strategic Bilateral Defence Relationship that “establishes the basis for a new era in security co-operation and paves the way for a new agreement to reflect the ambition of both countries”, they said in the statement.
“This deepens our defence co-operation for the future, including through the provision of UK-Iraq military education exchange, UK advisory support on capability and institutional reform, and the development of defence industrial partnerships,” they added.
Al Sudani began an official visit to the UK on Monday amid historic geopolitical shifts in the Middle East. Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran’s allies Hamas degraded in Gaza and Hezbollah battered in Lebanon during wars with Israel, and Bashar Al Assad toppled in Syria.
Earlier Tuesday, Britain’s King Charles III hosted Al Sudani at Buckingham Palace in central London.
“The meeting reviewed bilateral co-operation between Iraq and the United Kingdom and explored opportunities for establishing productive partnerships in various economic and developmental fields,” a statement from Al Sudani’s office said.
Discussions also touched on collaboration in climate change challenges and opportunities for enhancing cultural co-operation, it added, saying that the Iraqi PM reaffirmed “Iraq’s commitment to strengthening constructive bilateral relations in various sectors to promote mutual and sustainable interests for both the Iraqi and British peoples”.
King Charles III hailed the “historical ties” between Iraq and the UK, and underscored the “importance both governments place on advancing common interests and enhancing mutual understanding” across several areas”, the statement added.
ALSO READ: Surprise fall in inflation to 2.5% eases pressure on Reeves
