ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - American and Iraqi officials on Friday signaled a new phase in bilateral business engagement in the oil sector, as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's week-long visit to the United States has resulted in the signing of nearly 50 deals between the two countries in various fields.
Baghdad has forged "long-term partnerships with major global corporations, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, and KBR," Iraqi Oil Minister Basem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi told Rudaw in Washington on Friday.
"These partnerships aim to develop the oil industry and elevate production capacities for both oil and gas," he added.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said an "exciting new chapter" between Iraq and the US is unfolding to expand business relations as a "strategic partnership that lasts a long-term has a large commercial component."
"Today was a big day for the US relationship with Iraq," he told Rudaw.
Zaidi met with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and said his visit "was not like any visit" by former Iraqi officials. He framed it as an "announcement of economic" rather than "military" partnership.
He added that Iraq's current economic situation necessitates "a strategic partner" to help steer the economy forward, pointing to the US as "the most strategic partner in the world" in that regard.
Accordingly, his office said on Saturday that Zaidi has "sponsored the signing of 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding, cooperation agreements, and partnership declarations between various public and private sectors in Iraq and the United States."
Commenting on the deals involving oil and electricity, Oil Minister Abadi told Rudaw that they aim to "bring an end to the issue of flared gas and to search for new sources of free or associated gas in order to secure the fuel needed for electricity generation."
"This will ultimately secure substantial financial revenues for Iraq, which will be utilized to build infrastructure and develop the country," he explained.
The development comes as the US plans to withdraw troops from Iraq by the end of September and shift the partnership with Iraq toward a political and economic one.
