UK sees new role in Iraq oil play
The UK wants to get involved in protecting oil supplies from Iraq after its combat role there comes to an end, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today.
Brown was speaking after talks in London with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki coinciding with the formal end of combat operations for British troops in southern Iraq.
"We hope to sign an agreement with the Iraqi government about the future role that we can play in training and in protecting the oil supplies of Iraq and that will be an agreement between our two governments rather than any new United Nations resolution," Reuters quoted Brown saying at a news conference.
He said he believed the proposed agreement would go to the Iraqi parliament in the next few weeks.
Iraq produces nearly 2 million barrels of oil per day and sits on the world's third-largest proven reserves.
Maliki was in London with senior Iraqi officials and international business leaders to attend a conference exploring possible investment deals as his country slowly emerges from six years of conflict.
Representatives from around 250 companies, from Shell to Rolls Royce and Barclays Capital, are meeting leaders including Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani for a day of talks.
British investors have already proposed projects in Iraq worth $10 billion, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told the Invest in Iraq conference later.
A series of deadly attacks in Iraq in the past two weeks has stirred fears of a return to broader sectarian bloodshed.
"There are people in Iraq who want to fail the government but our army and armed forces are ready to face these challenges," Maliki told the news conference.
Brown said Iraq was open for business and urged British companies to look for opportunities there. Maliki said Iraq needed investment.
British troops are withdrawing from Iraq six years after joining the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. By the end of July there will be only around 400 troops left and they will continue to provide specialist training to Iraqi forces.