BASRA: In the latest sign of improving relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s oil minister attended an energy conference in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra on Tuesday.

Khalid Al Falih said Saudi Arabia wants to expand investment projects in Iraq to include energy, manufacturing and natural resources.

“These are all considered important steps in bringing Iraq back to the Arab fold as well as to open Iraqi markets for international goods,” Falih said.

“We see our cooperation and coordination as very strategic and crucial for both of our countries. It doubles our success, growth and prosperity, again and again.”

Iraq is looking for regional support as the country struggles to rebuild after ousting the Islamic State group from major cities and as it deals with an independence movement in its northern Kurdish region.

Petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) plans to open an office in Iraq soon, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said during a visit to Iraq’s southern oil city of Basra, as relations between Riyadh and Baghdad thaw.

Speaking at an oil and gas conference in Basra, Khalid al-Falih called for increased economic cooperation and praised existing coordination with Iraq to help balance the oil market and boost crude prices.

“I would like to announce that SABIC is in the final stages of reopening its office in Iraq, which will result in the availability of petrochemical materials and offers opportunities for (the company) to expand its investment in this sector,” Falih said in a speech late on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s Industrialization & Energy Services Co (TAQA) is also opening an office in Iraq which will “enhance the presence of the Saudi private sector in Iraq and support initiatives to expand investments,” he added.

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister visited Baghdad in October, making a high-profile speech in the Iraqi capital calling for greater economic cooperation. That same month a commercial Saudi Arabian airliner landed at Baghdad airport for the first time in 27 years, and in August the two countries announced plans to open the land crossing along their shared border.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia have had strained relations since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Iran gained wide influence over the Shiite-majority country after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Tensions between Riyadh and Baghdad only began to thaw in 2015, when Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy.

Agencies