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Deutsche Welle

German Economy Minister Michael Glos has paid a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The Bild am Sonntag newspaper reports that the ministry confirmed the news and that the visit had been kept a secret due to security concerns. The report says that the minister met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Glos also discussed German companies' interest in Iraq's oil reserves with the Iraqi oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani and industry minister Fawzi al-Hariri. He told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that no other country in the Middle East has such large and untapped oil reserves. Glos is expected to return to Germany later this Saturday. The German minister's visit comes just days ahead of a planned visit by al-Maliki to Berlin.