Iraq, UK sign cooperation agreement

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi and UK governments signed a technical and economic cooperation agreement on Thursday in London in 12 areas, according to the official spokesman for the Iraqi government. “Deputy Prime Minister Burham Saleh signed the agreement from the Iraqi side while Lord Peter Mandelson signed it from the British one,” Ali al-Dabagh said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Making the announcement in London at a major Iraq investment conference, U.K. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said the agreement would entail U.K. and Iraqi companies working in 12 areas of cooperation, including the energy and financial services sectors. The two-day conference is being billed as the biggest Iraqi investment conference outside the country since the end of the U.S.-led war in 2003. “The areas of cooperation include cooperation in investment, financial and banking services, the information technology and communication, environment, energy, education, water, oil and gas , transport, health care , industry, construction, housing, he infrastructure, defense, security and public services and other economic and technical cooperation fields the two sides agreed upon,” the statement added. The conference, organized by the U.K. Ministry of Development, presided over by Deputy Premier Burham Saleh. On Wednesday (April 29) evening, Maliki arrived in London, leading a senior delegation that included the foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari; the interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani; and the trade minister, Abdulfalah al-Sudani. SH (P) 1