July 10 (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Thursday, the first Turkish leader to visit Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. With violence in Iraq at a four-year low, countries in the region, especially Sunni Arab states, are starting to re-engage with the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. Following is a factbox on the region's relations with Iraq: TURKEY - Erdogan's visit could signal Ankara will upgrade its political ties with Iraq, which are often dominated by the presence of PKK Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, who use the area to launch attacks inside Turkey. Turkey and Iraq already have growing economic links. Turkey's trade minister has said bilateral trade was targeted to reach $20 billion within two years, compared with more than $3.5 billion in 2007. JORDAN - Jordan's King Abdullah is expected to visit Baghdad soon, a trip that will make him the first Arab leader to travel to Iraq since the invasion. Jordan recently named an ambassador to Baghdad, although it is unclear when the envoy will take up the post. A truck bomb killed 17 people outside Jordan's embassy in Baghdad in August 2003. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - The UAE said this month it had cancelled almost $7 billion of debt including interest and arrears payments owed by Baghdad, becoming the first Gulf Arab country to forgive all of Iraq's debt. The UAE also appointed a new ambassador to Iraq on July 6. The UAE withdrew its top envoy in May 2006 after a diplomat was kidnapped and held for nearly two weeks by militants. SAUDI ARABIA - Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia said last year it would open an embassy in Iraq but has not yet upgraded ties or named an ambassador. Last year, Saudi Arabia pledged to cancel 80 percent of more than $15 billion in Iraqi debt but also has yet to do so. In late May, a senior Saudi official said the kingdom might be prepared to rescind the entire debt. Saudi officials have said in private that moves by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to strengthen ties with Iraq meant it was only a matter of time before Saudi Arabia followed through on the debt and embassy issues. EGYPT - Egypt plans to send a team to Iraq to assess the security situation "within months" with a view towards possibly returning an ambassador. Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed shortly after arriving in 2005. KUWAIT - Kuwaitis are still bitter about Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of their country and parliament is unlikely to allow the government to write off the $15 billion owed by Iraq, MPs and analysts have said. Kuwait's al-Wasat newspaper has quoted diplomatic sources as saying Kuwait would shortly send Ali al-Mumin, a retired military officer, as ambassador to Baghdad. In a sign of better ties, Kuwait hosted a regional meeting on stabilising Iraq in April. BAHRAIN - In June, Bahrain said it would set up a new embassy in Baghdad and was selecting an ambassador. SYRIA - The governments of Iraq and Syria have had a history of animosity since rival factions of the Baath Party took power in the two countries in the 1960s. The respective embassies in Baghdad and Damascus were shut and were only reopened last year, after Syria sent its foreign minister to Iraq. No ambassadors have been named and ties remain tense over accusations Syria does not do enough to stop militants crossing into Iraq. IRAN - In comparison to Arab states, non-Arab Iran has strong ties with Iraq at many levels. Iran has a fully functioning embassy in Baghdad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a high-profile trip to Baghdad in March. Shi'ite Iran has links to key Shi'ite parties and politicians in Iraq. Many prominent Iraqi Shi'ites lived in exile in Iran during Saddam's rule. (Writing by Mohammed Abbas and Dean Yates: Editing by Matthew Jones)
U.S. soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division patrol the Jamilla market in Baghdad's Sadr City July 9, 2008. Iraq will not accept any security agreement with the United States ...
