A meeting took place at the Iraqi Embassy in London on 23rd April 2026 to explore prospects for joint cooperation in economic and commercial fields.
The Iraqi side was represented by Counsellor Amer Abdulhussein Al-Fatlawi and Counsellor Atheer Abood Al-Saedy.
The British side included Raoul Hodgson from the Iraq Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Avram Liebenau, Head of the Economic Section at the British Embassy in Baghdad; Lara Hampshire, Head of Trade at the British Embassy in Baghdad; and Reece Davies from the Department for Business and Trade.
Topics discussed included:
- Strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, and the banking sector
- Building on outcomes of the Iraqi Prime Minister’s 2025 visit to London, which resulted in the signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Iraq and the United Kingdom
- Completing parliamentary ratification procedures for the agreement to enable implementation of associated projects and financing opportunities
- Facilitating entry of Iraqi businesspeople into the United Kingdom
- Encouraging British companies to operate in Iraq
- Supporting the development of Iraq’s private sector
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Iraqi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dr Salih Husain Al-Tamimi, greeted the delegation and was briefed on the key outcomes of the discussions.
Full statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in London Discusses Strengthening Economic Cooperation with the United Kingdom
On 23 April 2026, a meeting was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in London, bringing together a number of economic specialists from both the Iraqi and British sides to explore prospects for joint cooperation in the economic and commercial fields.
The Iraqi side was represented by Counsellor Amer Abdulhussein Al-Fatlawi and Counsellor Atheer Abood Al-Saedy. The British side included Mr Raoul Hodgson from the Iraq Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Mr Avram Liebenau, Head of the Economic Section at the British Embassy in Baghdad, Ms Lara Hampshire, Head of Trade at the British Embassy in Baghdad, and Mr Reece Davies from the Department for Business and Trade.
The meeting addressed a number of issues of mutual interest, including strengthening cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, and the banking sector. Discussions also covered ways to build on the outcomes of the visit of the Prime Minister of Iraq to London in 2025, which resulted in the signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Iraq and the United Kingdom.
Both sides emphasised the importance of completing the parliamentary ratification procedures for the agreement in order to enable the implementation of the projects and financing opportunities it encompasses.
Both sides also discussed mechanisms to facilitate the entry of Iraqi businesspeople into the United Kingdom, encourage British companies to operate in Iraq, and support the development of Iraq’s private sector.
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the United Kingdom, Dr Salih Husain Al-Tamimi, greeted the delegation, and was briefed on the key outcomes of the discussions. He reaffirmed the Embassy’s commitment to strengthening economic partnership between the two countries in a manner that serves their mutual interests.
