Iraq says Jordan king to visit next week - Hürriyet

"His Excellency King Abdullah is coming next week," Ali al-Dabbagh said at a press briefing without providing further details.

"It shows that Arabs are engaging with Iraq because of fresh understanding of the situation in Iraq," he was quoted by the AFP as saying.

The move came after Baghdad agreed during a visit to Amman by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last month to renew a 2006 deal to sell discounted oil to its neighbor, which relies on Iraq for most of its fuel needs.

Jordan kept its embassy in Baghdad open even after the mission was attacked in August 2003, but it downgraded the level of its representation.

Washington has also been pushing its Arab allies, notably regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, to send ambassadors and high-level officials to Baghdad to help shore up support for the country’s Shi’ite leadership.

Dabbagh said King Abdullah was expected to arrive in Iraq with the new Jordanian ambassador, Nayef Zeidan.

The spokesman added that a flurry of overseas visits was being planned by Maliki, while Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was also expected to visit Baghdad in the near future.

"Iraq needs Turkey as it is the gate to Europe... Turkey needs Iraq as it is the gate to the Gulf," Dabbagh said, insisting that the two nations enjoyed healthy relations despite recent tensions.

Erdogan is expected to discuss several key issues with Iraqi officials, including the continuing raids by Turkey against the outlawed separatist PKK, who hides out along its mountainous border with northern Iraq, and economic agreements between the two countries.