Iraqi PM in London to launch ‘new era’ of ties

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to meet his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Shia Al Sudani on Tuesday for talks on trade, security and migration, in a visit hailed as a “new era” in ties.

The Iraqi prime minister’s trip to London, during which he also met King Charles III, comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

A “strategic partnership” to be signed during the trip would consolidate cooperation and be “one of the most important steps in relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom, representing the start of a new era,” Sudani said during the flight from Baghdad.

Sudani met on Tuesday with the UK’s head of state King Charles, before meeting Starmer at Downing Street.

The visit will see the start of talks on a returns agreement for Iraqi irregular migrants to the UK, Starmer’s office said.

The leaders will also unveil a £12.3 billion ($15 billion) export package to boost opportunities for British businesses, it added.

Starmer said the trip “marks a new era in UK-Iraq cooperation, which will deliver mutual benefits from trade to defence, as we continue to work together towards stability in the wider region.”

Immigration, both irregular and regular, was a major issue in the UK’s July general election, which brought the premier’s Labour party to power.

“Secure borders are a vital foundation of our plan for change, so I am also very pleased to get started on talks for a bespoke returns agreement between our countries,” Starmer said in a statement.

“The deal will help dismantle the people smugglers’ business model by sending the clear message that if you come here illegally, you cannot expect to stay.”

Sudani will also meet with business leaders including from oil giant BP.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, following a visit to Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region in November, said a security agreement with Iraq to target people-smuggling gangs and strengthen its border security was already having “an impact.”

Due to strengthened border security, better intelligence-sharing, and “additional funding to support Iraq’s law enforcement capabilities, we’re targeting people smuggling gangs where it hurts,” she said.

Agence France-Presse