BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Baghdad and Tokyo agreed to cooperate more on energy issues and oil development in Iraq's south, the Japanese trade minister following a surprise visit to Iraq.
Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata arrived in Baghdad as the Japanese government pressed for further negotiations for development of the Nasiriyah oil field in southern Iraq, Japanese news agency Kyodo reports.
Iraq said after it awarded a series of contracts to international oil companies in 2009 that it could rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production. The country is limited, however, by crumbling infrastructure and political hang-ups.
Ohata and his Iraqi hosts said the two countries agreed to move forward in bilateral cooperation, specifically in the energy sector, Kyodo adds.
Japanese government figures show the country relied on Middle East oil for the vast majority of its crude oil imports, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates supplying the most to Asian markets currently.
Japan's Nippon Oil Corp. reached a preliminary agreement with Baghdad in 2009 for the oil field but talks were suspended in part because Iraq lacked a formal government during most of last year.
