Tehran - Iraq wants Iran's assistance in reconstructing the country, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Sunday at the end of his two-day visit to Tehran.

"We are interested in availing ourselves of Iran's experience and expertise for Iraq's reconstruction and further want expansion of ties in all fields," the website of Iran's state television network IRIB quoted al-Maliki as saying.

The Iraq premier, on his fourth visit to Iran within the last two and a half years, said his talks with Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were positive and constructive and voiced optimism towards the future trend of relations with Iran.

Iran's Vice-President Parviz Davoudi said that the two states have agreed to boost their bilateral trade volume from 4 to 10 billion dollars per year.

Davoudi added that the establishment of a cross-border market and a free trade zone, transfer of electricity via the western Iranian province of Kurdistan to Iraq, and finalizing construction of an oil pipeline between the southern Iraqi city of Basra and Iran's nearby port of Abadan were among the agreements of the Tehran summit.

Ahmadinejad had on Saturday promised al-Maliki Iran's full help in enabling Iraq to gain peace and stability and said it was "Iran's Islamic and humanitarian duty" to stand beside the Iraqi nation.

According to press reports, al-Maliki also elaborated on the security pact signed last month between Iraq and the United States towards which Iran has a negative approach. Both sides however refrained to comment on the issue.

Iran wants the US forces to withdraw from Iraq even earlier that scheduled in the pact - withdrawal from Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009 and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011 - and leave all state affairs to the Iraqi government.

The two officials are also believed to have talked about US policy in Iraq under the incoming administration of president-elect Barack Obama. (dpa)