AMMAN, July 17 (AFP) - Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi will try to convince Arab nations to write-off Iraq's foreign debt and build new ties during his maiden tour of the Middle East, he said in statements published Saturday.
"This visit will be our first in the region ... and we will open a new page based on mutual respect, joint interests and regional security," Allawi told the Jordanian daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm in an interview from Baghdad.
"Of course the issue of debt and compensation will be discussed and I hope that our Arab brothers will be understanding," he said, adding that some of Iraq's foreign debts are "unreal".
Iraq owes about 120 billion dollars, including some 50 billion dollars to the oil-rich Gulf monarchies.
"We are trying to write off 95 percent of our debts," Allawi said. He did not give further details.
Allawi announced on Thursday that he will embark on a tour of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also planned trips later to Iran, Pakistan and Europe.
Egyptian officials in Cairo have said Allawi was expected there for a meeting Wednesday of Iraq's neighbours.
The one-day meeting will group ministerial level representatives from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.
These countries have held regular meetings since before the April 2003 US-led war on Iraq, but the Cairo meeting will be the first forum since the interim government took over from the US-led occupation at the end of June.