Boris Johnson is to meet British troops in Iraq and watch them training local fighters to take on Islamic State.
The Mayor of London wants to see for himself the work of British service personnel who are teaching advanced combat techniques to local Peshmerga militia forces.
He aims to drum up new financial opportunities for the City on a visit to Erbil, the largest city in Kurdistan, on his first trip to the region as Mayor.
The visit breaks new ground for the Mayor and will raise his profile as an international figure at a time he is increasingly being discussed as a possible future prime minister.
Speaking exclusively to the Evening Standard, he said his main aim was to build economic links with Kurds, but added: “I’m also going to support some of our guys out there who are trying to train the Peshmerga fighters, so we will see first hand some of the good Britain is doing in the area.”
About 60 British soldiers are in Iraq, mainly in Kurdistan, where they are teaching a range of military skills to Peshmerga forces who are traditionally loosely controlled but are now on the front line against Islamic State insurgents.
Lessons include how to defuse improvised bombs used by IS, using heavy machine guns supplied by the West and general infantry techniques.
The Mayor said the “lives and treasure we have invested as a country in helping Iraq” meant there were big opportunities to develop closer links. “Erbil has a massive oil sector, but also a growing financial sector and we want to be in there first,” he said.
“The Kurds are very, very pro-British. They see London as the natural centre for them in Europe. In an ideal world, Erbil has the potential to be the financial capital of the region and we want to build partnerships. Clearly, there is a great deal of uncertainty at the moment called by Islamic State, but there is also great opportunity.”
Despite heavy security, he was unconcerned by the potential dangers of the trip. “This is my third visit to Iraq, but my first as Mayor,” he said.
Read More
“I went into 2003 just after we had invaded the place. I was totally insane. I did not realise how dangerous it was. I went again in 2006.
“I’m not worried. We researched it thoroughly and it’s got to be done. Erbil is, relatively speaking, safe.”
@JoeMurphyLondon
