Syria has sent its first ambassador to Baghdad in decades, the Iraqi government said on Monday, the latest move from a fellow Arab country to strengthen diplomatic ties with Iraq.

Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari received newly appointed Syrian Ambassador Nawaf Aboud Al-Sheikh Faris on Monday afternoon, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Zebari "welcomed ambassador Faris and confirmed Iraq's desire to develop and enhance bilateral relations, and to move to a new stage of cooperation," the statement said.

Syria opened an embassy in Baghdad last year, but the arrival of its envoy marks a significant step for the two nations, which have had strained ties since rival factions of the Ba'ath party took power in both countries in the 1960s.

Syria has not had an embassy in Iraq since around the time Saddam Hussein became president in 1979.-Reuters