VIENNA, 18 April 2004 — Iraq’s minister of planning and development has confirmed that the handover of sovereignty to his country will go ahead as planned at the end of June.
“The representative of the UN secretary general, Al-Akhdar Al-Ibrahimi, is now in Baghdad to take part in the preparation of delivering power to the Iraqi people,” Mehdi Al-Hafedh told Arab News here Friday after a meeting with the Director General of the United Nation’s Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Carlos Magarinos.
Al-Hafedh expressed his hopes that the security situation will improve during the few coming days or weeks.
Al-Hafedh described the forthcoming conference of donor countries and international organizations in Qatar under the chairmanship of Japan as very important. He expressed hope that the result of such conference will play a pivotal role in the process of rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq.
Asked about a vision for the reconstruction of Iraq, Al-Hafedh said it was “to achieve its true potential for prosperity and utilize its natural resources including water and human development, as the country with the second largest oil reserve in the world.”
He said the process of rebuilding was “now under way,” adding a sovereign Iraqi government with full decision-making authority would shoulder the challenges of reconstruction.
Al-Hafedh, who is also chairman of the Strategic Review Board for the Reconstruction of Iraq, said the reconstruction priorities included strengthening institutions of sovereign, transparent and good government and “promoting a dynamic civil society that helps the Iraqi people to represent their interests”.
There was also an emphasis on protecting the environment, he said.
Restoring critical infrastructure and core human services destroyed and degraded by years of misrule and conflicts was high on the list, as was “supporting an economical and social transition that provides both growth and social protection.” Protection of the vulnerable was as important as achieving fast economic growth, he stressed.
The final priority was economic reform aimed at giving the private sector a pivotal role in growth, income generation and employment creation.
Al-Hafedh said Iraq’s population of some 27 million was generally well educated and well trained. It was a young country with some 70 percent under 25.
“Iraq’s overall reconstruction needs today are a tall order for the Iraqi people and for the donor partners, especially after taking into consideration that the World Bank and the UN Organization summed up Iraq’s needs assessments to a figure equal to $36 billion, of which $9 billion needed during 2004,” he said.
