Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrives in Beijing on six-day visit to China  20.6.2007

Talabani arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese leaders on oil cooperation and other bilateral issues, state media said. Talabani will meet his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry said, amid reports that the two sides will try to revive a frozen oil exploration deal signed by Baghdad's former regime.

During his six-day visit, Talabani and Chinese leaders will "exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest", foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

The two sides will sign bilateral agreements covering education, public health and other fields, Qin said.

Iraq wants Chinese firms to bid for oil exploration contracts and hopes to revive the frozen oil exploration contract, the Iraqi ambassador to China told Chinese state media before the president's visit.

"We encourage Chinese enterprises to join the multinational competition for exploration of Iraqi oilfields," the official China Daily quoted ambassador Mohammad Sabir Ismail as saying.

A 1.2-billion-dollar deal to explore the Al-Ahdab field was signed in 1997 with China National Petroleum and could be reactivated if a new oil and gas law is passed by the Iraqi parliament next month, Ismail said.

"The revival of the deal is in the process and the two sides have established working groups to help the contract go forward," he was quoted as saying.

Ismail said Iraq hoped to exploit about 80 new oilfields and produce 6.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2015.

He said China was ready to "substantially forgive debt owed by Iraq" and provide additional reconstruction aid.

Five cabinet members were scheduled to join a 40-strong delegation travelling with the Iraqi president, who will also visit the cities of Xi'an and Nanjing.

China's bilateral trade with Iraq was valued at 1.1 billion dollars last year, the newspaper said.

DPA | VOI  

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