Prior to Otari’s arrival, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said talks would touch on a demand for Syria to crack down on former Iraqi army commanders plotting against the government from exile in Damascus, and on the reopening of an oil pipeline.

Otari’s visit is another sign that majority Shi’ite Iraq’s efforts to improve ties with mostly Sunni-led Arab states are bearing fruit as violence dips and U.S. forces prepare to withdraw by the end of 2011.

Last year, Jordanian King Abdullah became the first Arab leader to visit since Saddam Hussein was ousted. Around 10 Arab states have appointed ambassadors to Iraq, the holdout being neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Iraq-Syrian relations have been unfriendly since Saddam’s takeover of Baghdad in 1979. The countries had been governed by rival branches of the pan-Arab Baath party.

“The historical and geographic ties between our people is the basis on which to build a strategic relationship that will put behind us the misadventures and wars of the former regime,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq by U.S. troops further chilled ties. Both U.S. and Iraqi officials have accused Syria of not doing enough to stem the flow of foreign fighters across the border into Iraq over the past six years.

But since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, ties appear to be improving between Damascus and Washington, which could facilitate a deeper Syrian-Iraqi relationship.

Obama has promised to withdraw the nearly 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of 2011.

Last October Damascus posted its first ambassador to Iraq since Saddam took over.

Iraqi officials say they want to rehabilitate an oil pipeline to Syria’s Mediterranean terminal of Banias, and an Oil Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that it was seeking bidders among international companies for the contract.

The pipeline, which has not been used for exports since the 1980s, was bombed by U.S. forces during the invasion. It has a capacity to carry 300,000 barrels of crude per day.

The Syrian prime minister said cooperation should be extended through a host of fields beyond oil and gas, including the power sector, transport, mining, banking and agriculture.

One area of possible contention remains. Iraq says Syria is not doing enough about Saddam-era generals it believes are plotting revenge after fleeing to Damascus.

Baghdad has also asked Jordan, Egypt and other countries to rein in the activities of Iraqi military officers who escaped abroad after Saddam’s downfall.

“We have been raising this issue promptly through diplomatic channels, with the leaders of these countries, and (told them) that these activities taking place against the Iraqi government are unfriendly acts,” Zebari said in an interview last week.