Saudi Arabia, Iraq reaffirm commitment to oil deal

Saudi Arabia and Iraq reconfirmed the countries’ commitment to last year’s agreement to reduce oil production until March 2018, during a meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iraqi oil minister Jabbar Al-Allaibi on Wednesday, state news agency SPA reported.

During the meeting the countries also reviewed joint opportunities in the economic fields, including open of land ports, direct flights and encouraging trade exchange and investments from the Saudi private sector.

Al-Allaibi travelled to Saudi Arabia after a meeting of the joint OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee (JTC) in Abu Dhabi.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid Al-Falih tweeted a photograph of him with Al-Allaibi, saying that they had discussed the importance of uniting efforts of all countries to ensure stability in oil markets.

Last December, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers, including Russia, had agreed to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day until March 2018, with the aim to rebalance global oil markets.