AMMAN, 19 July 2005 — Representatives from more than 60 countries and world organizations opened a two-day conference at the Dead Sea resort yesterday to review progress achieved toward the reconstruction of war-ravaged Iraq amid voices citing violence and corruption as two major hurdles impeding the implementation of development projects in the country.
“Terrorism, extremism and violence do deter the reconstruction process in the country and pose challenges for rebuilding a unified, democratic Iraq,” Jordanian Prime Minister Adnan Badran said as he opened the meeting.
Iraqi Planning Minister Barham Saleh also admitted that the insurgency and corruption in the country were hampering its reconstruction. “We have serious problem with corruption, and I think all of us must recognize it as a serious threat,” he said.
The two-day conference, which is chaired by the government of Canada, is the fourth in a series of meetings that started in Madrid in 2003 under the auspices of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI).
Saleh called on international donors to take a greater role in the reconstruction of the violence-ravaged country and deliver basic needs to its people. “We cannot act as if it is business as usual. It is time we made a difference to the people of Iraq,” he said.
The next few months are crucial for Iraq which must draft a constitution by Aug. 15 and put it to a national referendum by Oct. 15 ahead of elections to choose a fully mandated government by Dec. 15.
“An enhanced donors’ coordination mechanism is essential but will be worthless unless it is coordinated around a clear Iraqi vision for development,” Saleh said, as he announced plans to launch a national and regional dialogue in September.
“The case for aiding Iraq in its reconstruction is strong, not only in development terms but in geo-strategic terms,” Canadian diplomat Michael Bell, who chaired the meeting, told AFP in an interview ahead of the meeting.
“Iraq is going through a very serious and profound transition... If it does not succeed, we will have to look at the consequences in regional terms and in terms of security worldwide,” Bell said.
Bell, World Bank and UN officials will go on a world tour later this year to convince countries that have made good their contributions and those who have not “of the merits” of helping Iraq back on its feet, he added.
The World Bank announced yesterday plans to provide Iraq with $500 million in soft loans for the first time since 1973, a statement said.
“In response to a request from the government of Iraq up to $500 million in soft loans will be made available over the next two years to finance development projects in priority sectors,” it said.
“This lending package is the first to be extended by the World Bank to Iraq since 1973,” said the statement.
The World Bank and the United Nations administer a one-billion-dollar trust fund for Iraq set up by international donors, after the Madrid 2003 conference that pledged $33 billion in aid for the war-battered country.
The United Nations has spent $154 million from the fund while the World Bank has $365 million worth of projects being implemented.
But Saleh said despite efforts made to date “the basic needs for Iraq, from electricity to water, have not been met”, noting for example that Iraq was running on 5,000 megawatts of electricity daily when it needs 20,000 megawatts. “If you take away a single message today let it be this: Please get involved now,” Saleh said. “One of the most important things we need to decide at this meeting is innovative ways to advance Iraqi ownership of reconstruction efforts.
“We need to find ways to give the highest priority to interventions that yield the most benefits to the greatest number of people in the shortest time possible,” he said.
— With input from agencies
