¡¡LONDON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Saturday welcomed the formation of the new Iraqi government.

    "I warmly welcome the Council of Representatives' decision to endorse the new Iraqi government under Prime Minister Nouri Kamil Al Maliki," Beckett said in a statement.

    Britain would "offer our continued support and friendship" to Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his cabinet of 37 ministers, who were approved Saturday by the Iraqi parliament, shesaid.

    "On behalf of the UK, I congratulate the Iraqi people as they embark on the challenging road of democratic politics. This is notgoing to be an easy road," she said, adding "In Britain it has taken centuries to develop our democracy; in Iraq, this process isnow firmly underway."

    "One thing is certain: this government of national unity reflects the diversity and choice of the people. The future of democracy in Iraq now lies in the hands of the Iraqi people," Beckett said.

    "In their millions the Iraqi people have shown that terrorism has no place in this modern Iraq," the minister said.

    But she warned that the new government would have to "take tough decisions on building democratic structures, building up their security forces and developing their economy" if they were to defeat terrorism.

    "Britain will continue to help the Iraqi people face these challenges for as long as Iraq needs us," she added.

    On Saturday, Iraqi parliament approved the new cabinet line-up submitted by incoming Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at a special session held in Baghdad.

    The 37-ministerial cabinet line-up was finally approved by the parliament while three key posts, Interior, Defense and National Security Affairs, remained unfilled.

    The announcement of the new cabinet line-up came after five months of bargainings among political parties in Iraq after the country's election in December 2005.

    It will be the first full-term national unity government after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 ousted former president Saddam Hussein. Enditem