The history of British–Iraqi relations date back to the creation of Iraq in 1920, when it was controlled by Great Britain; by establishing separate provinces from Mosul to Basra.

[1] In the 19th century Europeans (mostly the British) began to take an interest in exploring, surveying, spying and trading in Mesopotamia, as well as in navigating its rivers.

[1] There was immediate resentment amongst Iraq's inhabitants at what they saw as a charade, and in 1920 a strong revolt spread through the country, the situation was so bad that the British commander, General Sir Aylmer Haldane, at one time called for supplies of poisonous gas.

In particular the rebellious Kurds in the north had little wish to be ruled from Baghdad, while in the south the tribesmen and Shia's had a similar abhorrence of central control.

Iraq remained a satellite of Britain for the next three decades, under the terms of a treaty signed in 1930, which included the retention of British military bases and an agreement to train the Iraqi army.

After the death of King Faisal in 1933 the country was virtually ruled by a group of colonels who saw themselves as the future liberators of an oppressed Iraq.

In 1961, after Kuwait had gained independence from Britain, the Iraqi leader, General Qasim, claimed it as an integral part of Iraq and concentrated his troops on the frontier, with the intention of taking it by force.

We would like now to focus on new prospects of cooperation in the economic, political and military areas; our forces have been able to build close ties with their Iraqi counterparts under the leadership of lieutenant general Mouhan.

"[10] A statement issued by the Presidency of the Cabinet quoted Al-Maliki stressing his government's keenness to establish better relations with Britain and open horizons of joint cooperation in all fields, saying that the coming phase will witness the establishment of multiple projects for the reconstruction of Basrah and all other provinces, calling on the British government to contribute actively in these projects and help to support the development of the Iraqi economy.

Its GDP growth rate for 2013 is forecast for around 14% - largely fuelled by a rapidly developing hydrocarbons sector which already generates around $8bn a month in oil revenues.

Corruption, bureaucracy, lack of transparency and decades of under-investment in key infrastructure all contribute to Iraq continuing to score poorly on global ease of doing business rankings.

And while the UK and Iraqi Governments are working together to address a number of the major barriers to trade, Iraq remains a challenging market in which to do business, especially for inexperienced exporters.

UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world.

They are also working with the Iraqi Government to identify and overcome obstacles to doing business in Iraq, including through the UK/Iraq Joint Ministerial Trade Council.

They work with both sides to overcome the challenges that exist and are well placed to encourage greater participation and engagement by British business in Iraq’s fast growing economy.

[14] In January 2025, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani met with his British counterpart Keir Starmer in London, where the UK and Iraq agreed to a £12.3 billion trade package focusing on sectors such as defense, infrastructure, and water, in addition to projects such as de-mining, reconstruction of Al-Qayyarah airbase and development of 5G networks.