Japan offers dlrs 40m in election aid to Iraq
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tokyo, Oct 13, Kyodo/OANA/IRNA -- Iraq received reconstruction aid offers from several countries including Japan at an international conference of donors that began Wednesday in Tokyo, pledging in return to make the country safer by January when it will hold parliamentary elections. Japan will provide dlrs 40 million `in order that the elections take place successfully and on schedule`, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said in his opening speech at the two-day conference. The money will come from the dlrs 490 million Japan has contributed the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq. Major donors are the European Union and 13 countries including Japan that have each committed more than dlrs 10 million. It is the first international conference on the reconstruction of Iraq since sovereignty was handed over to Iraqis from the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority on June 28. Representatives from 53 countries and four organizations attended the meeting. The 53 include potential donors such as France, Germany and some Arab countries while the four include the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Akio Shirota, the Japanese ambassador in charge of the reconstruction of Iraq who is chairing the conference, called on participants to boost financial aid to Iraq in the chairman`s summary he released after the first day`s session. The EU and South Korea expressed their intention Wednesday to make additional contributions to the fund next year, though they did not go into details, according to the summary. Meanwhile, Kuwait took advantage of the conference to reveal its plan to provide dlrs 65 million for Iraq in a separate channel from the fund, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. Thursday`s discussions will be limited to 23 donors among the 57 participating countries and organizations which plan to discuss how to utilize the fund. The Iraqi delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, pressed its case for ensuring a quick and safe reconstruction of Iraq, while calling for debt relief. Salih urged donors to follow up their commitments to help Iraq, saying in a speech, "Please do not delay. "Assistance and aid in the short term is the key to destroying the causes of terrorism," he said. "It is also the only way we will build a sustainable, long-term future for our people." Mahdi al-Hafidh, Iraqi minister of planning and development cooperation, also told the conference that the country will step up efforts to improve national security and police forces, and boost oil production. "Now that Iraq has assumed primary responsibility for the reconstruction effort, we are working hard to coordinate the assistance you provide," al-Hafidh said in a speech. "We are rebuilding institutions that will allow Iraq to defend itself," he said. There are more than 100,000 troops in the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police force and the army will grow by 15 battalions by January. The planned elections will be a key political step for Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty in June. On the economic front, Iraq said it has restored oil production capacity. The oil production target for 2007 is 3.5 million barrels per day, according to the document called National Development Strategy which the Iraqi ministers released at the conference. "Over the last few weeks, we have achieved the target of producing 2.5 million barrels per day. By the end of this year, we expect the number to increase to 2.8 million," al-Hafidh said in the speech. Salih said, "We simply ask that they (debts) should not compromise the ability of our people to escape from the former regime`s long, dark shadow." While al-Hafidh added, "At up to dlrs 125 billion, our burden is five times as high as our gross domestic product." Conference chairman Shirota indicated that efforts to consolidate unity among donors should take priority while there is no mandate for participants to strike a major deal. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who also joined the talks, reiterated that the United States will help Iraq improve the security situation. "The first priority for the Iraqi interim government is to secure the country so that other reconstruction efforts can succeed," he said. Armitage dismissed speculation that the envisaged elections may be held only in certain areas due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. "The elections have to be held nationwide" including the central Iraqi area where conflicts between the US-led forces and anti-US militias continue, he told a press conference at the US Embassy in Tokyo later Wednesday. Similar donors` conferences were held in Abu Dhabi in February and Doha in May. Other participants from Iraq include Communication Minister Muhammed al-Hakim, Electricity Minister Aiham al-Sammarae and Health Minister Ala`din Alwan. /2322/1432
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