by Omar Hasan2 hours, 55 minutes ago
Iraq needs around 100 billion dollars from donor countries to develop its infrastructure over the next five years, an Iraqi official said at the opening of a donors' meeting in Kuwait.
"We need 100 billion dollars to rebuild our infrastructure. This is an approximate figure for the next five years," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told a press conference on Tuesday.
"We need the assistance until the oil sector is reconstructed," Dabbagh said following the opening of the Preparatory Meeting for International Compact with Iraq.
Iraq is home to some of the world's largest reserves of untapped crude oil, but its ageing oil pipelines, a favourite target of insurgents, and general insecurity have prevented the country cashing in on valuable oil exports.
Representatives of 14 major donor countries and seven international institutions are taking part in the one-day Compact meeting which is expected to approve the blueprint of a partnership between Baghdad and the international community.
Donor nations are seeking commitments from Baghdad that it will carry out comprehensive economic, social and security reforms and combat rampant corruption before paying the aid.
The meeting follows a similar one held in Abu Dhabi on September 10.
Sheikh Mohammad said that some 40 donor nations are expected to attend a major conference in Baghdad before the end of the year to sign the Compact which is dubbed as a roadmap to Iraq's recovery.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told the opening session that his government is determined to undertake its part of the commitments in the Compact and appealed for more help.
"You can contribute by providing new and serious financial and economic aid to help meet the shortfall in the Iraqi budget to help strengthen Iraq's security capability, rebuild infrastructure and improve services" he said.
"It is also essential to pay all previous aid commitments made at the Madrid conference," he said.
Saleh also appealed for waiving tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi debts, adding that "this Compact is not a project to collect aid and assistance. It is a project to build a nation."
The Kuwaiti foreign minister warned in the opening session that violence in Iraq could spill over to other countries.
"This serious internal situation in Iraq is not confined by that country's boundaries, but has the potential to adversely affect Iraq's neighbours as well as the larger world community," Sheikh Mohammad said.
He said Kuwait "places high hopes that the international Compact group will be successful in integrating the new Iraq in the world community," he said.