President Lee Myung-bak met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday in Seoul and discussed bilateral collaborative plans for the economic, resource, and energy sectors.

Lee asked for the Iraqi government’s help in facilitating more South Korean companies to take part in developing the Middle Eastern nation’s oil fields. Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the world.

Maliki asked the South Korean government and companies to take a proactive role in various reconstruction projects for Iraq. The projects include oil and gas mining and providing access to electricity, housing and transportation.

The two nations agreed to increase cooperation in trade and investment by signing an agreement to promote South Korea-Iraq economic and energy efforts.

The two leaders also exchanged opinions on the recent spread of democracy in the Middle East and other regional and international issues.

On the sidelines of the Korea-Iraq summit, South Korea’s Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-kyung and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Hussein al-Shahristani were reaching a deal. The two parties on Thursday signed an economic and energy cooperation agreement securing South Korea the right to receive a minimum 250-thousand barrels of crude oil per day from Iraq during crisis situations.

Under the agreement, South Korean companies may import Iraqi crude oil on long-term contracts spanning up to 20 years.