Bagdhad - Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was in Baghdad Tuesday for talks with Iraq's president and prime minister on greater cooperation in the troubled country's "national reconciliaton" process.

The visit comes a day after the US claimed it had shot down an Iranian drone over Iraqi airspace last month, and other strains within the Arab world over Iran's influence.

In a statement, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki would discuss the role the Arab League could play in improving Iraq's security and in the country's "national reconciliation" process.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Moussa and Iraqi officials would also hold preparatory talks ahead of the Arab summit in Qatar at the end of the month, and would discuss proposals, originally floated by Bahrain at the beginning of March, for a new forum to improve political, economic, and social ties between Arab and South American states.

The drone shooting down, which a US military official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa took place on February 25, highlighted Iraq's importance in the regional balance of power, particularly between Iran and predominantly Sunni Muslim Arab states, particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday that he was unaware of the "vague report" on the drone.

Morocco last week cut diplomatic relations with Iran in protest over a senior Iranian politician's comment in February referring to the Bahrain as a former province of Iran.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri has complained that Iran has been "active" in promoting Shiite Islam and culture in Morocco and across the region. (dpa)