CAIRO (AFP) -- The newly-appointed head of the Arab League's mission in Iraq is to arrive in Baghdad today, diplomatic sources said, signaling the establishment of diplomatic ties between the pan-Arab body and post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.

The appointment of Moroccan diplomat Mokhtar Lamani as head of the League's Iraq mission and his arrival in the country should pave the way for a more robust Arab involvement in Iraq, an Arab diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

"The Iraqi government has approved and welcomed the head of the Arab League mission whose appointment was endorsed by Arab foreign ministers in early March," the diplomat said.

Lamani's responsibilities are to include consulting with various Iraqi factions -- such as Shiites, Kurds and Sunni Arabs -- with the aim of providing Arab support for the political process and completing preparations for an Iraqi reconciliation gathering, he added.

Arab leaders held a summit in the Sudanese capital Khartoum last month that called for a stronger Arab role in the future of Iraq, which remains engulfed in violence three years on from the U.S.-led invasion.

Until now the 22-member Arab League, reflecting its opposition to the invasion which toppled Saddam, has failed to open an office in Baghdad, where Arab diplomats have often been targeted by insurgents.