23 October 2003
Annan Calls for "Urgent Attention" to Iraq Reconstruction
Madrid conference "a moment of hope for the future of Iraq," he says
By Wendy Lubetkin
Washington File Correspondent
Madrid -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio opened an international donors conference October 23 with an appeal to the world community to stand by the Iraqi people and help them to build a new Iraq.
The people of Iraq must know that they will not be alone, that we all want their well being," Palacio said to the gathering in Madrid. "The Iraqi people are depending on us. We will not let them down."
Some 70 national delegations are attending the October 23-24 International Donors' Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq. The meeting was organized by the government of Spain together with a core group of donors -- the United States, European Union, Japan and United Arab Emirates -- in cooperation with the United Nations, World Bank and other international agencies.
In addition, more than 300 businesses from 47 countries are participating in a series of sessions on the role of the private sector in the reconstruction of Iraq.
Annan told delegates that they have gathered in Madrid at "a moment of hope for the future of Iraq" and for a people who for many years have "suffered some of the worst privations known to humankind."
Although the world looks forward to "the earliest possible establishment of a sovereign Iraqi government," reconstruction "cannot be deferred until that day; it demands our urgent attention now," Annan said.
"I appeal to donors to give generously, and for those contributions to be provided in addition to existing commitments," he said.
The Iraqi people "are looking to this conference for a signal that the international community is indeed ready to help them to build a new Iraq -- a stable, independent and democratic country, at peace with itself and its neighbors," he said.
Annan said an assessment prepared by the United Nations and World Bank indicates that some $36.5 billion will be needed for the years 2004 to 2007, including $9.3 billion for 2004.
"All of you are familiar with what many years of oppression, brutality, neglect, sanctions and misguided policies have done," he said, adding: "Our challenge now is to respond, to respond ... and to get the country's reconstruction off to a determined start."
"The people of Iraq have a hard road ahead of them, filled with both risk and opportunity. Let us not leave them to travel it alone," the secretary general said.
As Annan spoke, a separate one-day conference entitled "The Role of the Private Sector in the Development of the New Iraq" was getting under way in an adjoining building at a conference center on Madrid's international fair grounds.
Its objective is to offer the business community a chance to meet Iraqi authorities and to learn more about investment opportunities in Iraq. Breakout groups on individual sectors will examine financial services, infrastructure and related industries, consumer and retail goods, agriculture, health care and energy.
On the eve of the donors conference, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the meeting already had "elements of success" because of the high turnout. Briefing reporters on a flight to Madrid, Powell declined to set a specific figure on expectations. But he said he was "pleased with some of the early donations that have been put down," including $1.5 billion from the Japanese in the form of an immediate grant.
Powell also welcomed Annan's participation in the Madrid conference as an indication that the international community is "coming together again" after passage October 16 of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1511 providing a framework for U.N. and international participation in the political and economic rebuilding of Iraq and maintenance of security.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=October&x=20031023110909zemogb0.6140558&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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