Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday pledged to deepen energy cooperation with Uzbekistan as the two countries finalised an oil and gas exploration deal.

"I believe there is enormous potential for developing our bilateral relations and economic cooperation," Abdullah told reporters after meeting Uzbek President Islam Karimov on a three-day visit to hydrocarbon-rich Uzbekistan.

"We must further strengthen the close links in the area of mineral resources development," he added.

Malaysian state oil firm Petronas is already working on several energy development projects in Uzbekistan, and Abdullah told Karimov that the company would continue develop new oil and gas deposits in the central Asian country.

Karimov said Petronas's total investment in Uzbekistan was now around US$750 million.

Oil, gas exploration

Meanwhile, Uzbek and Malaysian officials inked a document to start oil and gas exploration works at the Surkhan investment block in Shurkandaria province, southern Uzbekistan.

The initial agreement on the investment block was signed in May this year. Financial details were not disclosed.

Earlier this year, Petronas and Uzbekistan also signed a production-sharing agreement on the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in the Ustyurt plateau in the northwest of the country.

-AFP