35 million dollar oil contract, Indian - Iraqi committee meetings

The meetings of the Indian - Iraqi joint committee for economic and commercial cooperation will start this week in New Delhi, India.

The committee's meetings will be chaired on the Iraqi side by Minister of Petroleum Amr Mohammed Rashid who left Baghdad for New Delhi today. The talks will focus on India's contribution to implementing the fourth stage of the oil-for-food agreement signed between Iraq and the U.N. in 1996.

The total contracts signed by India to supply Iraq with needed medicines and foodstuffs within the fourth stage of the oil-for-food agreement reached a value of $35 million. Iraq is exporting nearly 500,000 tons of raw petroleum to India during this stage within the understanding note.

Two major Indian companies signed contracts with Iraq to rehabilitate some of the Iraqi petroleum fields that were damaged during the Gulf War in 1991 in addition to discovering new petroleum fields in Iraq.