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| March 3, 2004 |
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| Japan and France to Work Together to Rebuild Iraq |
WASHINGTON - March 3, 2004. Agence France Presse notes that Japan and France said Tuesday they had
agreed to work together to rebuild Iraq, focusing on its cultural heritage
and providing medical support to the people in the war-torn nation,
reports. Cooperation in the field of medicine would take the form of
sending staff of the Al Mansur Teaching Hospital of Baghdad, which France
has been supporting, on a training course in Cairo, jointly organized by
Japan and Egypt, the statement said. The two countries would also support
Iraqi athletes hoping to take part in international competitions and
consider joint training programs covering electricity, agriculture and
education, the statement added. A French diplomatic source said in the
longer term Paris also envisaged joint action with Japan to train a police
force along the lines of its gendarmerie, but not before Iraq had regained its sovereignty.
The Associated Press notes that American and Iraqi officials met Tuesday
with businessmen in this Middle East financial hub in an attempt to lure
foreign investors into Iraq to help revive the economy of one of the
region's richest nations. The meeting with the private sector, attended by
scores of business representatives based in the region, comes a few days
after Iraq donors' meeting in the Emirati capital agreed to place about $1
billion pledged for Iraq's reconstruction into a fund initially overseen by Japan.
The Guardian (UK) meanwhile reports that Iraq yesterday suffered its worst
day of violence since the war's end, when its majority Shia community was
targeted in a series of sophisticated and simultaneous attacks that killed
as many as 223 people and left its religious leaders blaming the Americans
for multiple security failures. Last night the UN secretary general, Kofi
Annan, warned that the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty, due to take place
on June 30, could be jeopardized by the violence. Paul Bremer, the US
administrator in Iraq, said the signing of the interim constitution would
be delayed until later this week after an "appropriate period of
mourning".
Source: The World Bank |
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