Qatar will open an embassy in Baghdad, Iraq’s foreign minister said on Friday, in the latest sign of improving relations between Gulf Arab countries and Iraq.

Qatar will open an embassy in Baghdad, Iraq's foreign minister said on Friday, in the latest sign of improving relations between Gulf Arab countries and Iraq.

Tensions between the Muslim-ruled states of the Gulf and Iraq have eased since Prime Minister Haidar Abadi took office last year.

A rapprochement could help strengthen a regional alliance against terrorists of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group who have seized vast areas in both Iraq and neighboring Syria.

"We have agreed to open the Qatari embassy in Baghdad to begin resuming diplomatic work," Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a news conference.

Saudi Arabia also signaled its intention to reopen an embassy in Baghdad earlier this year and has invited Abadi to visit the kingdom.

Some Gulf states have viewed Iraq as being too close to their main regional rival, power Iran.