A rchive Date
[ 24-10-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.N ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/10/24/235564-ap.html
Nations hammer out Iraq aid
By DANIEL WOOLLS - Associated Press
Fri, October 24, 2003
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Nudged by the United States, donors came through Friday with pledges big and small for Iraq but were falling short of the estimated $56 billion needed to rebuild the country.
While the pledges were greater than expected, many were in the form of loans or debt relief for a nation already burdened with an estimated $120 billion in debt run up during Saddam Hussein's rule.
"All of us are here today to make a strategic investment in hope," Secretary of State Colin Powell told delegates from 77 countries. "Now is the time for all of us to be generous with money, with training, with opportunity."
Midway through the conference, countries and international lenders had pledged about $19 billion in grants and loans, on top of the $20 billion promised by Washington. While pledges were still being made, the conference seemed sure to fall short of the $56 billion the World Bank estimates Iraq needs in the next four years.
In an interview with European newspapers published Friday, Powell expressed regret that France and Germany weren't pledging new funds.
But he said it would "not mean it's a disaster" if the two-day conference doesn't raise the entire $36 billion - on top of the U.S. pledge - that the World Bank says Iraq needs over four years.
Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in what led to the 1991 Gulf War, offered $500 million in new money, on top of $1 billion already spent.
"Now that the darkness that has prevailed over Iraq for decades has gone, we hope that peace and security with the help of the international community will prevail again," said Kuwait's foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah.
Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion, but the richest country in the Arab world said half would be in loans through 2007 and the rest would be in export credits. However, it gave the first hint that progress might be made on a U.S. push to relieve some of Iraq's debt.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia is "ready" to reduce some of the $24 billion it was owed by Iraq, but he did not give specifics.
Iran, which fought Iraq from 1980-88 in a war that claimed 1 million lives, said it would let Iraq export oil through Iranian ports and supply its neighbor with electricity and gas.
"Let us join ranks to help people of Iraq to enjoy, after decades of suppression, repression and hardship, a better life that they really deserve," said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
The president of Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council, Ayad Allawi, opened the pledging session with promises that his country would not forget those who helped.
"Your success here will be a success for humanity and a help for peace and security in the world," he said.
After hearing accounts Thursday of Iraq's dire needs, delegations came forward one by one on Friday - from Austria to Vietnam - and announced what, if anything, they will contribute.
After the $20 billion package now before the U.S. Congress, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi offered the biggest pledge: $1.5 billion in grants for 2004 and $3.5 billion in loans for 2005-2007.
Italy added $232 million for three years - in addition to the 3,000 troops it has stationed in Iraq.
In all, the European Union is giving $812 million next year, said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country holds the EU presidency.
That's less than the $931 million the 15-nation bloc offered to Afghanistan last year, reflecting the absence of France and Germany. Those two leading opponents of the U.S.-led war are holding back to register their disapproval of the U.S. blueprint for restoring Iraqi sovereignty.
"This is not the end of the process," Treasury Secretary John Snow told the conference Friday. "We have much work to carry forward from here."
The first Gulf state to come forward - United Arab Emirates - announced a pledge of $215 million, but gave no timeframe. Poorer countries chipped in too, such as Slovakia with $290,000. Bulgaria and Egypt offered technical assistance but no money. Belgium pledged $5.8 million.
International Monetary Fund director Horst Koehler said the fund could lend Iraq as much as $4.25 billion over three years. It would be the IMF's first loan ever to the oil-rich nation.
But Koehler stressed Iraq needs economic stability and reforms, as well as debt relief, to lure private investment and lower a staggering 60 percent unemployment rate.
"These results will not come overnight," he said. "And we know that these reforms will only succeed if there is ownership by the Iraqi people" - a reference to Washington's continued control of the country.
The American administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, acknowledged lingering differences over the war and its aftermath. "But by our presence today we signify that we agree on one major point and that is the Iraqi people need help to realize their future of hope," he said.
Snow reiterated Washington's push for debt relief as well. The IMF estimated Iraq owes about $120 billion, mainly to European and Gulf countries, plus reparations from the 1991 Gulf War.
In other pledges announced, South Korea has agreed to $200 million and Canada $230 million, most already spent. The World Bank has said it will lend Iraq $3 billion to $5 billion in the coming five years.
American officials stressed that the United States would administer all U.S. contributions - but not the new fund set up here to be managed by the World Bank, the United Nations and Iraqis.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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