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| October 13, 2004 |
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| Iraq Urges Donors To Honor Fund Pledges At Tokyo Meeting |
WASHINGTON - October 13, 2004. Iraq's deputy prime minister called on nations to fulfill their pledges of
aid at the start Wednesday of a 55-nation conference in Tokyo aimed at
opening the flow of badly needed cash for the reconstruction of Iraq,
reports Dow Jones.
Five members of Iraq's interim Cabinet, including Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, were at the two-day conference to try to persuade
participants that their country is both in need of donations and safe
enough for the money to be effective. The conference is the first since
the new government assumed power in July. Organizers are hoping donor
nations will be more willing to deal with the new Iraqi government than
the previously US-controlled administration. Elections are scheduled for January. Representing Iraq are Saleh, Planning Minister Madhi al-Hafidh and three other Cabinet members.
The donors' meeting follows a conference in Madrid last year in which 37 countries and international lending institutions pledged $13.6 billion in grants and loans. Other meetings have followed, most recently in Doha, Qatar, in May. But the continuing instability in Iraq has stalled reconstruction and diverted funds to security. Only about $1 billion of the pledged amount has been deposited in World Bank and UN funds for Iraq.
The Los Angeles Times explains that since the Madrid donors have until
2007 to make good on their pledges, they are under no technical obligation
to pay up now. But the Japanese hosts of the meeting, as well as Iraqi
officials, will try to persuade donors to quickly honor their pledges to
get more money flowing into the country before elections scheduled for
January. The United States, which is promising to take a backseat to Iraqi
government officials at the Tokyo conference, does not plan to solicit new pledges for Iraq.
Dow Jones notes in a separate piece that US Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage said Wednesday Iraqi officials asked other nations to
fill in the $3.46 billion gap left as the US transfers funds from Iraqi
reconstruction projects to security. Armitage added that Saleh said that
nine or ten of the 18 provinces in Iraq are clear of security problems and
that donors could start projects there first.
Xinhua adds Saleh also listed the top three social sector priorities in
dire need of assistance: health, water and sanitation; education and
housing. He vowed to carry out measures to stamp out corruption, and
create a totally transparent system for the collection and application of
all revenue and expenditure, especially in the oil industry which
currently accounts for 94 percent of Iraq's revenues. The UNDP
administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, meanwhile said the UN will go on
helping Iraq's election and rebuilding. He said $402 million for 40
approved projects had been transferred to the UN implementing
organizations through the UNDP, an administrative agent of the
International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI).
Kyodo (Japan) further explains that on Wednesday, senior working-level
officials will review various assistance measures that donor countries have provided for Iraq since an international meeting on the issue was held in Madrid last October. They are expected to discuss the security and political situations in the country during the first day's session, the sources said. Donor countries as well as potential donors, such as Germany, France, Russia and some Arab countries, will participate in Wednesday's session. Thursday's discussion will be limited to donor
countries, which plan to discuss how to utilize the fund. Major donors are
the European Union and 13 countries including Japan that have each
committed more than $10 million.
The Associated Press further notes that few new pledges of aid were
expected in Tokyo. Iran was the first, promising $10 million, and on the
eve of the conference Japan announced three new infrastructure projects
worth a total of roughly $144 million. But that did not include the
promise of any new funds. On Wednesday, Tokyo, which has already promised up to $5 billion, pledged to earmark $40 million to help with Iraq's
elections, again from existing funds. The announcement brings to $1.3
billion the amount Japan has put into specific projects. The US is the
leading donor nation, with a pledge of $18.4 billion. The World Bank has
$360 million deposited by nine countries and the European Commission, and expects to reach $400 million by the end of the year. There is about
another $600 million in the UN fund.
In other news, Xinhua reports Iraq and 10 other countries have regained
their right to vote in the United Nations General Assembly after the
191-nation body determined their failure to pay dues is due to conditions beyond their control, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. Iraq lost its vote at the United Nations due to back dues when it was under the rule of former President Saddam Hussein. It was still barred from voting at the world body after it regained sovereignty in June following 15 months of US occupation and sent an envoy to the UN New York headquarters in September.
Source: The World Bank |
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