Baghdad - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday arrived in Iraq on an unannounced visit, the first by a high- level Egyptian delegation since the 2003 US invasion, an Iraqi official told dpa.

Among those accompanying Abul Gheit was Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy.

Both ministers are to meet their Iraqi counterparts as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for the purpose of making further moves toward normalization of relations between the countries.

It was not clear whether the delegation included a new Egyptian ambassador to Iraq.

An Egyptian envoy to Iraq, Ehab el-Sherif, was kidnapped and killed shortly after he arrived in 2005. (dpa)