Jordan's King Abdullah, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the World Bank President James Wolfensohn discussed aid to Iraq Wednesday, focusing on reconstruction and planned elections. "During the meeting, Wolfensohn reviewed efforts made by the World Bank to contribute to Iraq's reconstruction and assisting the Iraqi government to rebuild the state's institutions and cope with the difficult economic conditions," a Royal Court statement said. "King Abdullah pledged to carry on with contacts and good offices with the international community and donor countries to urge them to contribute effectively to Iraq's construction and alleviating its external indebtedness." Allawi, who arrived with interim Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh and interim Planning Minister Mehdi Saleh, briefed Abdullah on efforts to prepare for the January 30 election. He held out the possibility of meeting a new batch of Iraqi politicians living in Jordan with a view to convincing them to take part in the polls. Earlier this month, Allawi met a number of Iraqi politicians, academics and tribal leaders in the Jordanian capital, but most said they urged Allawi to postpone the elections. --SP 2314 Local Time 2014 GMT
