BAGHDAD (AFP) — Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was in Baghdad on Wednesday for trade and policy talks, the first Lebanese leader to visit since the fall of Saddam Hussein more than five years ago.

Siniora's trip came on the heels of a visit on August 11 by Jordan's King Abdullah II, the first by an Arab head of state since the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam.

He held talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki covering "the progress of Iraq, including security and the successful policies achieved by Iraqi government for national unity," a statement from Maliki's office said.

"They discussed Iraqi relations in the region as well as those with other Arab nations," it said.

Baghdad, which used to have a strong trading partnership with Lebanon before the invasion, is eager to rebuild relations with its neighbours in the wake of five years of bloodshed that continue despite reconstruction efforts.

Iraq has an embassy in Beirut, while Jawad al-Haeri was in 2006 named Lebanon's first ambassador in a post-Saddam Baghdad, but he died in July and has not been replaced.

Washington has been pushing its Sunni Arab allies, notably regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, to send ambassadors and high-level officials to Baghdad to help shore up support for the country's Shiite leadership.

The United States also hopes these countries will offer financial support to Iraq and counterbalance the influence of Iran, which US President George W. Bush has accused of meddling in Iraqi affairs.

Siniora is in Baghdad at the head of delegation which also includes Foreign Minister Fawzi Salukh.

Last month, Saad Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority in Lebanon, also visited Iraq.