Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 26 visited Amman, an event seen by local observers as a major step toward normalizing Jordanian-Iraqi ties after months of tension. Abadi made Amman his first Arab destination since he took office on Sept. 8, replacing Nouri al-Maliki who had governed Iraq for eight tumultuous years. Abadi met Jordan's King Abdullah who assured his visitor of Jordan’s concern over Iraq’s unity, security and stability. He also underlined the need to involve all Iraqis in building the country’s future. The king reiterated Jordan’s commitment to standing by Iraq in the face of various challenges, while Abadi said Jordan remains Iraq’s closest neighbor.

But beyond public statements, Abadi’s visit came at a time when both countries are facing mutual threats. Jordan has joined the international coalition to fight the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, and its air force has carried out an unspecified number of airstrikes against targets in both countries. But for Amman and Baghdad, recent gains by IS fighters in Anbar province constitute a major threat to both. With world attention focused on the battle for the Kurdish Syrian border town of Kobani, IS has managed to claim most of Anbar including the highway linking Amman to Baghdad.

Abadi came to Amman to discuss Jordan’s role in thwarting IS in the mostly Sunni province of Anbar, Jordan’s land gateway to Iraq. Since the fall of most of the province into IS hands, trade between the two countries dropped considerably. Historically, Amman has maintained good relations with the province’s tribal heads and played a pivotal role in supporting the so-called Awakening movement (2006-09) that succeeded in evicting al-Qaeda militants from Anbar. Jordan provided logistical and intelligence backing, which eventually helped the United States hunt down and kill Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian jihadist whose organization later became the precursor of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, now IS.

Abadi, who promised to reverse his predecessor’s policies of excluding Iraq’s Sunnis from the political process and end sectarian tensions, wanted to get Jordan’s support in convincing key Anbar tribal heads — many of whom are in exile in Amman and Erbil — to form a 30,000 strong volunteer force to fight IS. Most of these tribal heads fled after Maliki sent his army earlier this year to quash a Sunni uprising in Anbar that was calling on the Baghdad government to abandon its sectarian policies. Others left the province after IS fighters took major cities and towns, including most of Fallujah and Ramadi.