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British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett arrived in Baghdad on Monday to discuss security and economic recovery with the Iraqi government, Britain's foreign ministry said.

It was Beckett's first visit to Iraq since Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed her foreign minister in May.

Beckett said in a statement she looked forward to talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Iraqi political leaders on building security and prosperity in Iraq.

She noted that Dhi Qar province, currently policed by Italians in a British-led force, was judged ready to be handed over to full Iraqi control. "More provinces will follow as the Iraqi security forces become more capable," she said.

Security and the political process would top her agenda but she would also discuss the economy, which had suffered decades of under-investment and mismanagement under ousted President Saddam Hussein, she said.

"Hard decisions are needed to promote economic recovery and provide reliable services to the Iraqi people," she said.

"We do not underestimate the challenges ahead. But we must not forget the progress made in the last 12 months in bringing the first democratically elected national unity government to the country, with a constitution voted for by the people.

"This government has made a good start over the past three months. Continued hard work and determination is required to help build a stable and peaceful future for Iraq," she said.

Earlier on Monday, a roadside bomb blasted a British patrol near the southern Iraqi city of Basra, killing two soldiers and seriously wounding a third, a British military spokesman said.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies September 5, 2006)