Rice made the request while meeting Monday in Bahrain's capital, Manama, with top diplomats from Persian Gulf countries.

Rice is on a three-day trip to the Middle East. She travels next to Kuwait, where officials from world powers - including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the Group of Eight industrialized nations - Iraq and other Arab nations are to gather Tuesday for a conference on Iraq's future.

Those at the conference are expected to adopt a joint declaration on Iraq.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials called on Arab nations to cancel Iraq's debts. They also urged other countries to open diplomatic missions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Many nations have been reluctant to open embassies in Baghdad due to security concerns.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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