The European Union and Iraq have signed an agreement to strengthen their energy cooperation in areas such as natural gas, energy security and renewables, the European Commission said Monday.
The agreement "provides a political framework for reinforcing energy relations between Iraq and the EU," the commission said in a statement.
Iraq is considered an important potential source of natural gas for the EU, which is seeking to diversify its energy supply sources, mainly away from Russia, putting a strong emphasis on gas from the Caspian, Central Asia and the Middle East.