Iraq signs oil agreement with Syria

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The visit paid by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Syria aimed to turn the bilateral relation into a strategic one, a leader of the National Alliance said on Thursday, noting that the Iraqi delegation signed an agreement to extend an oil pipeline through the Syrian territories. “The delegation signed an agreement with Syria to export the Iraqi oil through the Syrian territories,” Khaled al-Assadi told IraqiNews.com news agency. Al-Maliki had arrived in Damascus yesterday (Oct. 13) leading a high-profile delegation on an official visit to Syria. He held talks with President Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian counterpart, Mohammad Naji Otri on ways to boost bilateral relations. Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani signed on Wednesday in Damascus a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation in oil and gas field with his Syrian counterpart Sufian Allaw. SH (P)/SR 1