Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed an electrical interconnection agreement on Tuesday at the Saudi-Iraqi Forum.

Hamid Al-Ghazi, the  Secretary-General of Iraq’s Council of Ministers, set out the need for the deal, saying: “Iraq is in dire need of electricity, and this connection will add to the Iraqi electric power.”

The Memorandum of Understandng came as a result of a study conducted by the two countries, which concluded that there is an opportunity to connect them in what is a step towards achieving a regional market for electricity sharing.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Ablduaziz bin Salman said: “Recently, Saudi Arabia and Jordan signed a MoU of electrical interconnection between both countries, and then a few months ago we signed an agreement in the same regard with Egypt.”

“Today comes the agreement with Iraq, which is part of a goal to make the Kingdom a regional center for linking electricity systems in the Arab world,” he added.