A statement by the Iraqi government said he had held talks with Iraq's prime minister and vice president.

The previously unannounced arrival follows a planned visit last month which was cancelled after officials in Iraq revealed the king would be coming.

The BBC's correspondent in Baghdad says the trip is of great symbolism.

Our correspondent, Crispin Thorold, says the visit comes after Jordan's announcement it will reopen its Baghdad embassy, bombed in 2003 in an attack that signalled the start of a rapid departure of Sunni Arab diplomats from Iraq.

"The discussion between the two parties was frank and positive," a statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's office said.

"They discussed the progress made by Iraq and especially that of the Iraqi government's success in security and the future reconstruction projects," it added.

Jordan sent its prime minister to Baghdad in September 2005, which was also a first by since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Sunni-Shia mistrust

King Abdullah agreed to visit Iraq in June, during a visit to Amman by Mr Maliki to renew a deal to sell discounted Iraqi oil to Jordan, which relies mainly on Iraqi oil.

As well as being a target of the anti-US insurgency in Iraq, Jordan - a major US ally and aid recipient - was the scene of al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombings by Iraqis itself.

The country hosts between 500,000 and 750,000 Iraqi refugees who have fled the violence in their war-torn country.

Observers say Sunni Muslim-ruled Arab states, which include Jordan, have been wary of the rise of Shia Muslim power and Iranian influence in post-Saddam Iraq.

Upgrading and improving ties with the Baghdad government has long been a US request to its Sunni allies in the region.

Only a few Arab countries to have named ambassadors to Baghdad, but none of the appointees have taken up their posts yet.

In recent months, the governments in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwiat and Bahrain have also announced the reopening of their missions to Iraq.

Jordan was an ally of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and initially supported Baghdad after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait which triggered the first Gulf war.

BBC