Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, is to visit Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the German government announced on Friday. Allawi will arrive in Germany on Thursday and will meet Schröder the following day to discuss the stabilization of Iraq and the rebuilding of the war-wracked country, a statement said. In an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag last weekend, Allawi said he would not ask Germany to send troops to Iraq, but urged German businesses to aid in reconstruction projects. Allawi, who was appointed by the United States, appeared to be taking a swipe at France and Germany earlier this month when he called on "spectator" countries to get off the fence and get involved in stabilizing his country. (AFP)