India and Iraq have signed an agreement on energy cooperation to boost bilateral ties. The agreement was inked after delegation level talks between the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Iraqi counterpart Nouri -al Maliki in New Delhi yesterday.

Three other agreements to strengthen trade relations and strategic partnership between the two countries were also signed. Dr. Singh said the energy trading relationship needs to be turned into a strategic partnership through joint ventures in oil exploration.

Dr. Singh said, the two sides have also decided to expand cooperation in agriculture , water resource management, pharmaceuticals , healthcare and Information Technology.