South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced on Thursday that South Korean and Iraqi governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the development of Iraqi oil fields.

The MOU was signed by Kim Young-ju, South Korea's minister of commerce, industry and energy, and Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraqi oil minister, on Thursday here after a ministerial meeting.

Under the MOU, the two countries will establish a committee for cooperation of resource development and hold high-level working group meeting in Baghdad or other countries by May to discuss bilateral cooperation in energy sector. The two sides also agreed to increase investment in oil development in Iraq.

According to local media, the South Korean government expressed their strong willing of developing the Halfaya oil field in southern Iraq during Thursday's ministerial meeting. The Halfaya oil field is estimated to contain up to 3.8 billion barrels of oil.

South Korea imported 15 million barrels of crude oil from Iraq last year, making up for 2 percent of South Korea's annual needs.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal Al-Maliki arrived in Seoul on Wednesday on a three-day visit. The South Korean government said earlier that the two governments will seek ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of natural resources, energy and construction in Iraq during Al-Maliki's visit.

About 2,300 South Korean troops are stationed in northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

Source: Xinhua