Including armament.. (INA) discusses 15 files with the British ambassador to Iraq

 
 
Baghdad-INA
 
The British Ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson Richardson, announced on Monday, launching a new program to support Iraq by strengthening the national family planning system, while expressing his country's readiness to work with Iraq to diversify its economy and reduce gas flaring.
 
 
Government Formation
The British ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson Richardson, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “The Iraqi people need a government that is ready to meet the long-term economic, social and security challenges facing the country," noting that "the United Kingdom looks forward to strengthening its relationship with Iraq and working in partnership with the new government to help build a strong, and effective Iraq that serves all its citizens." 
 
He continued, "The United Kingdom looks forward to work with the new government in order to continue developing our strategic partnership and expanding our cooperation and participation in a number of sectors, including work to reduce and respond to the effects of climate change," adding "the next government will face some challenges such as securing energy and water supplies, diversifying the economy to make it less dependent on hydrocarbons, and providing accountable security for all Iraqis".
 
 
He added, "Human resources and basic services need urgent economic reforms to develop the financial sector, improve the business environment and develop the private sector," noting that "this will ensure achieving the country's economic capabilities and create more job opportunities."
 
British support for Iraq
The ambassador stated, "The United Kingdom has been one of the main donor countries in Iraq for several years, as it has provided more than 278 million pounds sterling in humanitarian aid since 2014, to support Iraqis and those affected by the conflict with ISIS". 
 
he indicated that his country "Also provided 56 million pounds sterling through the World Bank and United Nations programs to support the reconstruction of Iraq, including financing projects that support access to electricity, education, housing and health care for communities in areas affected by ISIS," explaining "We have again launched a program for The Demographic Transition, worth £14 million, in partnership with the United Nations to support the Government of Iraq in strengthening the national family planning system. "
 
And he stated, "Education is another important field for Iraq, as the UK-supported 'Education Cannot Wait' fund has just announced a £9.5 million program to help Iraq provide education for 200,000 children, including 120,000 girls and 20,000 of them are handicapped children.”
 
 
Oil Prices
 
Richardson indicated that "Oil prices have been volatile recently due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the markets seem to be in a stable statue," noting that "the world has begun to move away from the use of hydrocarbons, and global demand for hydrocarbons is expected to decrease by about 75% by year 2050", affirming that “This may cause great uncertainty in the market, which will pose serious risks to economies, such as Iraq, which is highly dependent on oil.”
 
 
Reducing the emissions
 
Richardson added, "Britain supports commercial projects that reduce emissions, as it supports the Iraqi government's efforts to develop gas storing facilities," explaining that "Iraq is currently the second largest country that flares gases, a practice that contributes to generating many harmful greenhouse gas emissions."
He stated, "The British experience may be able to help the Iraqi government achieve its goal of eliminating flaring gases by 2027, which will help reduce emissions and reduce dependence on imported gas," adding that "the United Kingdom supports environmentally friendly exports and investment by using platforms such as our chairing of the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Dubai Expo, to showcase green and innovative companies in the UK.”
 
Trade Exchange
 
The ambassador stressed, "The total trade in goods and services between the United Kingdom and Iraq amounts to about 650 million pounds annually," noting that "we are keen to increase business between our two countries."
 
He stated, "The British Trade Department in our embassy is working to enhance British expertise and knowledge to help Iraq's economy and prosperity."
 
Service Support
 
He stressed, "The embassy supports the activities of the Iraqi ministries to provide special projects in the sectors of water, sanitation, energy, defense, security, education and health care," explaining that "the Kingdom has an export financing facility, which can provide financing and insurance services on very competitive terms for companies that export UK products to Iraq, this is already being used in a number of projects including in the energy sector."
 
 
 
The Global Coalition 
 
The ambassador stressed that “The Global Coalition  announced that it will turn in December 2021 from combat operations to providing advice, assistance and empowerment, which is what happened now," explaining, "This was done in agreement with the Iraqi government according to its request."
 
He pointed out that "There are a number of advisors who play an important role in the coalition, in addition to the presence of military advisors and trainers who provide support to the NATO mission and the Iraqi army directly."
 
"We are working closely with the Iraqi government to identify needs and match them with experience in the British military," he said.
 
 
The armament contracts
 
Ambassador Richardson pointed out, "We are currently working on concluding defense contracts to support Iraq's capabilities to combat terrorism, such as deploying anti-drone equipment, or by providing equipment to help secure Iraq's borders."
 
Supporting Iraq to Confront Cyber Threats
 
He explained that "There are commercial interests with Iraq in the field of the Internet, and helping Iraq to confront threats in cyberspace, pointing out that" there are companies that submit bids to help Iraq recover from the legacy of terrorism and war, including providing services to remove mines ,unexploded ordnance  and explosive devices.
 
He added, "What determines our defense trade relationship with Iraq is what Iraq tells us that it needs, and the place where the United Kingdom makes a clear offer," stressing that "the discussion so far did not include combat aircraft, but we are ready to respond to any requests from Iraq." 
 
Judicial cooperation
 
The British ambassador stated that "The United Kingdom has a long history of cooperation with Iraq in the field of justice and cooperation with police agencies," explaining that "such cases are evaluated based on their own merits, and progress is made in accordance with relevant treaties and human rights laws."
 
Iraqi antiquities
 
The British ambassador indicated, "Preserving the cultural heritage in Iraq is a priority for the United Kingdom through our Cultural Protection Fund," explaining that "this work leads the British Council, which has provided support since 2017 for 11 projects worth3 million dollar To protect Iraq’s cultural heritage in danger, an example of this is the Smart Water project in which the University of Reading is participating from the United Kingdom, which has trained museum staff in Sulaymaniyah, Baghdad, Nasiriyah and Basra to secretly mark and protect more than 270,000 priceless artifacts.
 
He continued, "This work helps deter the smuggling of historical artifacts out of Iraq and helps law enforcement authorities track stolen antiquities," explaining that "over the past five years, the British Museum has been actively involved in helping to retrieve and return stolen antiquities to Iraq from Private collections and auction houses in the UK, including the announcement in 2020 during Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi’s visit to the UK to return around 5,000 artifacts".
 
Missions to Britain
 
he stated, "University links are increasing between the UK and Iraq on the heels of of the previous turmoil caused by ISIS, as in the past two years we have provided support through the British Council to establish eight new links in the areas of research related to cultural heritage, peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue and support university leadership ,we also launched a new research and consultancy initiative to assist the Ministry of Higher Education in its internationalization strategy and ambitions.”
 
And he indicated, "Through the Chevening Scholarship Program, we provide funding to about 30 Iraqis each year to study a master's degree in the United Kingdom, which increases building higher education links between our two countries," expressing his welcome to "Iraqis who meet the requirements for obtaining a visa requirements to visit the UK for travel, study or work, details of which can be obtained from ukvisas.gov.uk. There are visa application centers in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra for applicants to submit (personal information) and documents.”
 
The Iraqi community in Britain
 
The British ambassador stressed that "There are about 60,000 Iraqis born and residing in the United Kingdom, in addition to many Iraqi and British citizens of Iraqi origin," noting that "Iraqi society plays an important role in life in the United Kingdom, and many British Iraqis occupy important positions in business, politics, science and medicine.”
 
 
Russia-Ukraine war
 
Richardson stressed that "The humanitarian consequences of Russia's unprovoked, deliberate and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state we see daily," noting that "most of the world's countries are united in condemning Russian aggression, as we have witnessed 141 countries representing a wide range of world opinion, including countries such as Argentina Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Switzerland and Yemen voted in the United Nations General Assembly on March 2 to condemn Russia's actions.
 
"Later that month, most countries in the world, including Iraq, voted overwhelmingly within the United Nations General Assembly to demand protection of civilians and humanitarian access to Ukraine on March 24, after the Russian attack. Iraqis will feel great sympathy for what is happening to Ukrainian civilians now, but the war that Russia chose to wage against Ukraine had global effects,"
 
"This war has led to a significant increase in the prices of basic foodstuffs, and this is likely to affect the poorest people in all our societies," explaining that "the countries of the Middle East, including Iraq, suffer from food insecurity far from paying attention to the effects of the Russian war option on others,” he also added.