King Abdullah II of Jordan arrived here Monday, the first visit to Iraq by the head of an Arab state since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Abdullah received a warm welcome by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his cabinet members, smiling and hugging, the Iraqi national TV showed in a news clip.
The king also met with Iraq's Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, according to the TV footage.
Maliki and Abdullah discussed bilateral relations and progress made by the Iraqi government in the security file.
The prime minister also expressed willingness to improve relations with all Arab countries.
Abdullah's arrival marks a considerable payoff for Iraq's efforts for gaining greater diplomatic support from its neighbors, especially the Arab countries.
The leaders of the Arab nations shunned tours to Iraq since fall of Saddam in 2003 either out of security concerns or due to misgivings over the relationship between Iraq's Shiite-led government and Iran.
Iran's President Ahmadinejad paid a splashy visit to Iraq in March, an uncomfortable show of influence for the United States, which is concerned about Iran's growing role here.
Maliki has frequently urged Iraq's Sunni neighbors and other countries to step up diplomatic exchanges with Iraq, including more visits by government leaders and dispatching ambassadors.
The U.S. has also been pressing for those nations to make further positive moves toward that purpose.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have appointed ambassadors to Iraq.
In July, Iraq also received Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was the first Turkish leader to visit Iraq in nearly 20 years. Bilateral relations are strained over how to deal with Turkish rebels based in northern Iraq. Yet, the two countries have close economic ties.
Abdullah's tour came about two months after his meeting with Maliki in Amman. During that visit, Maliki offered to extend a 2006 agreement for three years to supply Jordan with crude oil in favorable terms, accounting for 10 to 30 percent of Jordan's daily need.
Resources-starved Jordan was receiving free or low-price oil when Saddam was in power.
Jordan, along with Syria, hosts the bulk of Iraqi refugees. About 750,000 of the 2.2 million Iraqi refugees abroad live in Jordan.
Abdullah's visit was originally scheduled for July, but was reportedly postponed for security reasons.
Source: Xinhua
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