BAGHDAD (AFP) -– Jordan's ambassador to Iraq took up his post on Thursday, the Iraqi foreign ministry said, becoming the highest-ranking diplomat from Amman to be based in Baghdad since 2003.

Nayef Zeidan arrived in Baghdad and presented his credentials to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a ministry official told AFP.
Zeidan's appointment to Baghdad is the first of an ambassador since its mission came under deadly attack in 2003.
Jordan kept its embassy in Baghdad open after the attack but the mission was downgraded to the level of charge d'affaires amid serious concerns over the spike in insurgent violence.
Amman said in May that it would designate the new ambassador to Iraq, while King Abdullah II in August became the first Arab head of state to visit since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Syria's first ambassador to Iraq in 26 years also began work in the Iraqi capital this week, marking an official end to more than two decades of frosty relations between the two neighbors.
Washington has been pushing its Arab allies, notably regional Sunni heavyweight Saudi Arabia, to send ambassadors and high-level officials to Baghdad to help shore up support for Iraq's Shiite-dominated leadership.
Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have named ambassadors to Iraq but due to lingering security concerns the only other Arab ambassador actually posted in Baghdad is the Emirati.
Security in Baghdad has improved over the past year, with a city of six million now averaging four attacks a day, which according to U.S. statistics is 89 percent less than in 2006 and 83 percent lower than in 2007.