Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi arrived here Tuesday for a three-day visit to Jordan, the official Petra News Agency reported.

During his stay, Allawi is expected to meet with Jordan's senior officials on bilateral ties, an official in his office was quoted as saying, adding the prime minister may also meet with opposition leaders in Jordan over Iraq's future.

Iraqi government spokesman Thaer al-Naqib said earlier that the aim of Allawi's visit to Amman was to find common ground between his government and the exiled oppositions as well as to explain the political process in Iraq.

Allawi was in favor of "the participation of all Iraqi political parties and movements in the vote scheduled for Jan. 30," said theofficial.

It was reported that Allawi was to hold informal meetings mainly with representatives of Iraqi tribes and businessmen before heading off Thursday to Berlin and Moscow.

After his two-day visit to Russia, Allawi will return Amman to meet with some 120 exiled Iraqi opposition figures in Jordan onDec. 8.

However, he has ruled out any meeting with members of the opposition which formed part of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.

Source: Xinhua