Iraq and the UK have signed a ‘historic’ trade and bilateral defense agreement worth a total of £12.3 billion ($14.98 billion). The wide-ranging agreement was announced following a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London.
According to a spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office at Number 10, Starmer met with his Iraqi counterpart, Sudani, in London. The British Prime Minister noted that Iraq has become a safer and more prosperous country under Sudani’s leadership and expressed his satisfaction with this progress. Starmer emphasized his commitment to supporting this momentum by building a modern, future-oriented partnership between the two nations.
The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of promoting peace and stability in the region, particularly in light of recent developments in Syria. They welcomed the deepening of bilateral defense ties through the signing of a new joint defense declaration and pledged to maintain strong cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Prime Minister Starmer also addressed the issue of economic growth during the meeting, welcoming the developing partnership between the UK and Iraq. This partnership was demonstrated by the ‘Partnership and Cooperation Agreement’ signed during the visit and the announcement of a £12.3 billion trade package. The two leaders discussed their intention to work on a new extradition agreement to address illegal immigration and committed to closer collaboration to disrupt human trafficking networks.
The agreement will enable Iraq to benefit from British private sector expertise in water, energy, telecommunications, and defense infrastructure. It will also secure future investment projects in sectors such as clean energy, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and financial services.
The agreement includes several major projects:
-A £1.2 billion project to use British-built power transmission systems in a grid connection project between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
-A £500 million plan for the refurbishment of Al-Qiyara Air Base in northern Iraq.
-A £5.3 billion water infrastructure project to provide clean water to southern and western Iraq, to be run by a UK-led consortium.
In addition, a British company will undertake the Basra Water Project, which includes desalination and water treatment plants to provide clean water to three million Iraqis in the south. This project is worth a total of £3.3 billion. British companies have also been awarded a £330 million contract to clear mines left by the war across Iraq.
Following the meeting, the Iraqi side announced that a memorandum of understanding was signed with British energy company BP to develop Kirkuk oil fields and increase oil and gas production. According to a statement from the Iraqi Prime Ministry Press Office, the memorandum, signed during Sudani’s visit to the UK, transfers the rehabilitation and development project of four oil fields belonging to the Northern Oil Company in Kirkuk to BP. The agreement aims to achieve the best production rates targeted for oil and natural gas.
