British Prime Minister Theresa May met with her Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad on Wednesday, an Iraqi government spokesman said, her first visit to Iraq since coming to power last year, Reuters reported.

Britain is a main partner in the U.S.-led coalition helping Iraq defeat Islamic State, the hardline Sunni group that overran about a third of Iraq in 2014.

The British government said in September that there were around 600 British soldiers on the ground in Iraq.

They are primarily involved in training Iraqi security forces in battle-winning infantry, engineering and combat medical techniques, as well as providing courses on other skills including countering improvised explosive devices.

Britain provided over 1,400 military personnel as part of its three-year involvement in the U.S.-led coalition.

“Iraqi-British relations are witnessing a marked improvement. We thank the British government for its support of Iraq in all fields, chiefly cooperation against terrorism, air support, and intelligence,” Abadi said in a news conference.

Britain had also helped Iraq on the issue of those who were internally displaced as a result of the Islamic State takeover and the subsequent campaign by Iraqi forces to dislodge the militants, he said.

“We will continue to support Iraq as a partner in order to enforce security, building, and stability, as well as in training Iraqi forces and efforts to return the displaced,” Abadi’s office quoted May as saying.