Amman - Interior ministers of Iraq and eight of its neighbouring countries were scheduled to meet in Amman Thursday to discuss ways of helping the Iraqi government restore security to the violence-torn nation.

The two-day conference, the fifth of its type since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, will be attended by Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey and Iran.

Participants are expected to discuss the prospects of coordination among the security bodies in the nine countries for helping Iraq to deal with terrorism, infiltration of militants through its borders and systematic crime, conference participants said.

The meeting wins added significance as it comes at a time when the Iraqi government is locked in intensive negotiations with the United States over the drafting of a long-term security pact that reportedly provides, among other things, for the withdrawal of the allied forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Though the Iraqi-US agreement is not officially on the agenda of the interior ministers conference, the issue is expected to be taken up by ministers in bilateral talks behind the scenes, diplomats said.

The future of about 2 million Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly in Jordan and Syria, is also expected to be raised during the ministers' deliberations, they added. (dpa)