Iraq’s Fuad Hussein meets with British ministers Cleverly, Wallace during London meeting

LONDON: The foreign ministers of the UK and Iraq met in London during the UK-Iraq Strategic Dialogue this week.

The meeting between James Cleverly and Fuad Hussein, who is also Iraqi deputy prime minister, reaffirmed the commitment of the two countries to work together and the two ministers agreed to develop and further co-operation on a wide range of sectors.

The Strategic Dialogue builds on the signing of the UK-Iraq Strategic Partnership in Baghdad in June 2021, which outlined UK’s commitment to the long-term security, stability and sovereignty of Iraq. 

The meeting also followed the visit of the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, Lord Ahmad, to Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, earlier in the year.

Cleverly and Hussein discussed the importance of “building a prosperous future for the Iraqi people and the UK’s commitment to supporting Iraq, including through the Iraq Economic Contact Group, as it undertakes the bold long-term reforms needed to put Iraq’s economy and society on a stable footing,” a British government statement said.

Both sides welcomed the Iraqi government’s ambitious economic reform agenda and agreed on the necessity of rapidly delivering non-oil growth, private sector job creation and improving access to finance.

With bilateral trade between the two countries increasing, Hussein also met leading UK businesses to identify new commercial opportunities, while both sides agreed their intention to finalise the UK-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible and put it to their respective parliaments this year.

Ahead of COP28 later this year, the ministers agreed to increase high level engagement over the rest of 2023, and both sides welcomed the UK’s support in further developing and strengthening Iraq’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

On security, the UK and Iraq agreed on the importance of continuing to driving Daesh out of Iraqi territory and welcomed the commitment of both the UK and Iraq to support the Global Coalition Against Daesh, as well as the efforts by both sides on rehabilitation and reintegration of displaced Iraqi citizens including those returning from Al-Hol camp in North-East Syria.

“Recognizing modern threats posed by cyber, both sides agreed to deepen engagement on cyber security, including through the UK’s support of the newly established Cyber Security Directorate within the Iraqi Ministry of Defense,” the British government communique said.

The two ministers discussed the shared challenges that the UK and Iraq face in tackling serious organised crime and the drivers of migration. They reviewed areas for further cooperation to ensure safe and legal migration, including targeted programming to better understand and address the drivers of illegal migration and establish robust and trusted processes for migration cooperation, including reintegration packages. 

“The UK will bolster its support to strengthen Iraq’s borders through mutually agreed programmes,” the statement added.