Al-Maliki, Seniora agree on Iraqi oil exports to Lebanon (Roundup)

Aug 20, 2008, 14:23 GMT

Baghdad - Visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday agreed, among other things, on the export of Iraqi crude oil to Lebanon during talks in Baghdad.

Seniora arrived in the Iraqi capital amid tight security Wednesday as the first Lebanese leader to visit the conflict-torn country in two decades. He was accompanied by his deputy and several members of his cabinet, including finance and foreign ministers, and an economic delegation.

Al-Maliki told reporters at a news conference that discussions with his counterpart had focused on the strengthening of diplomatic ties and the cooperation in the fields of trade and oil.

'We have talks about trade exchange in different fields, including providing the brotherly Lebanon with Iraqi oil, according to agreements that the ministers of the two countries would have a role in concluding them,' he said.

The two leaders also discussed the return of Lebanon's ambassador to Iraq.

Lebanon, Seniora said, sought to implement the various trade agreements that were being discussed in the bilateral talks, in the coming weeks. Lebanon was also keen to conclude investments in the Iraq's oil sector, he said.

Al-Maliki and Seniora also agreed to a joint role in rebuilding and enhancing inter-Arab ties, Al-Maliki added.

Iraq regards Seniora visit as an important step towards rebuilding relations with Lebanon. Baghdad is working to re-establish ties with its neighbours in the wake of five years of bloodshed.

A domestic political shadow on Seniora's visit came when it emerged that Lebanese Energy Minister Alain Tabourian boycotted the trip to Baghdad in an apparent rift with Seniora. Tabourian is a member of the Hezbollah party which is in opposition to Seniora.

Meanwhile, tensions between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq's northern Diyala province remained high Wednesday, a day after US-led Iraqi special forces carried out a raid on provincial government headquarters.

Al-Maliki appointed his interior minister as head of committee that will investigate Tuesday's crackdown, Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported Wednesday, quoting a senior Diyala official Awf Rahoumi

Jawad al-Boulani and his team would study details of the crackdown, including the raid on Diyala government headquarters in Baquba.

The raid sparked clashes in which Diyala Governor Raad Rasheed al-Mulla's secretary Abbas al-Tamimi was killed.

Al-Maliki had on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the crackdown in which a number of Diyala officials were arrested, including Hussein al-Zubeidi, who heads Diyala's security committee.

As part of the crackdown, US-led forces also arrested Diyala University head Nizar al-Khazraji and clashed with university security guards. Four people were killed in the clashes in the area of the university in south-west of Baquba.

The Diyala government on Wednesday declared a three-day period of mourning for al-Tamimi while the university closed its doors for the day in protest of al-Kharzraji's arrest.