ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged representatives of more than 40 countries at a major summit in London to help the United Kingdom in collaborating to dismantle migrant smuggling networks “once and for all.”

Delivering the opening remarks of the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Monday, Starmer said, "This vile trade exploits the cracks between our institutions... and profits from our inability at the political level to come together.”

The two-day summit brought delegates from over 40 countries, including the foreign ministers of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, together to discuss collaboration in combatting illegal migration.

Starmer stressed the importance of intergovernmental intelligence sharing to tackle "the problem upstream at every step of the people-smuggling routes.”

"There's nothing progressive or compassionate about turning a blind eye to this,” the UK prime minister said.

The British government in late November announced they had reached a “world-first” security agreement with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, aimed at combating irregular migration and other border security concerns.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper met with Iraqi and Kurdistan Region officials during her November trip, signing a landmark joint statement on border security with Baghdad, a move that would set out "the commitments of both countries to work more closely in tackling people smuggling and bolster border security,” according to a statement from the UK Home Office.

As part of the program, Cooper committed to providing up to £300,000 for training Iraqi law enforcement in border security, with a focus on organized migration crime and narcotics.

Kurdistan Region aimed at enhancing capabilities relating to irregular migration and border security, including setting up a new taskforce.

Thousands of migrants illegally try to cross the deadly channel every year in search of a better life in the UK, with many of them coming from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Over 57 have reportedly lost their lives attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, the deadliest year on record for such crossings.

As part of his government’s plan to tackle illegal migration, the British premier confirmed £75 million in funds to bolster border security.

UK Prime Minister Starmer said on Monday that since he took office as the premier in July, over 24,000 people out of nearly 30,000 who crossed to the UK have been returned, an achievement that he described as the "highest return rate for eight years.”

A total of 6,642 people crossed between 1 January and 30 March this year - a 43% increase on the same time last year, according to Starmer.