Baghdad, February 27:

Iraq’s cabinet approved a draft oil law — a key plank in moves to reunite the war-torn country — and will submit it to parliament for approval, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.

The law aims to distribute revenues from crude oil exports equitably across 18 provinces and open the sector to foreign investors.

It has been a subject of fierce debate among leaders from Iraq’s bitterly divided factions.

“This law has been based on our national interest. It will encourage the bringing together of all component parts of the Iraqi people,” Maliki told a news conference. “This law is a gift to all the Iraqi people,” he added.

Oil exports are Iraq’s most important source of revenue, despite insurgent attacks on oil facilities.

Since US invasion, divisions between Iraq’s communities of Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs and Kurds have erupted into open hostility.