Iraq's recent political reforms have strengthened the country's security situation, thus forced the Islamic State (IS) militant group to withdraw from some positions, foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said on Wednesday.

Jaafari made the remarks while speaking at a joint press conference with the his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry who is on an official visit to Baghdad.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government has been in power for only months' time, and the city of Mousl is still in the hands of the IS militants, yet Iraq has made "great" progress in political reforms and the security situation is improving, he said, adding that the IS terrorists have started to pull back.

Jaafari also told the reporters that the two foreign ministers discussed "the common menace (IS militant group) that threatens the region and the whole world."

For his part, Shoukry said that his country "condemns all kinds of terrorism which use the religion as a cover for their violations against innocent citizens whether in Iraq or the Arab world."

Shoukry added that he will meet with Abadi later in the day and deliver an official invitation from the Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab to his Iraqi counterpart to visit Egypt.

Earlier, Iraqi President Fuad Masoum met with the Egyptian foreign minister in his office. The two discussed how to promote bilateral ties and counter-terrorism cooperation.

"The security and military cooperation between Iraq and Egypt is important now to face the challenges of terrorism," Masoum said in a statement issued by his office.

Shoukry expressed the readiness of his country to boost cooperation and to offer whatever assistance that would help the Iraqis in achieving their goals and strengthen national unity.