Iraq's Allawi says funds will "help us get back on our feet"

By Wendy Lubetkin
Washington File Correspondent

Madrid - Donor states have pledged at least $33 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq at the two-day international conference in Madrid, organizers announced October 24 at a closing press conference.

Secretary of State Colin Powell described the outcome as "very successful."

"The at least $33 billion that has been pledged here today demonstrates that the international community is coming together to help the Iraqi people build a new nation, one that will be proud to rejoin the international community," Powell said.

Powell emphasized that a number of nations who were unable to make a pledge in Madrid "might well be able to do so in the future and might be considering their position as we move forward with this achievement under our belt."

The $33 billion figure includes the 20.3 million in a U.S. supplemental budget request, which is in the final stages of congressional approval.

President Bush said the conference marked "significant progress for freedom in Iraq."

"I commend the 73 nations and 20 international organizations that are meeting the challenge of helping the Iraqi people recover from decades of oppression and build a better future. The contributions will help bring necessary funds, goods, and services to the Iraqi people," Bush said in a statement issued by the White House October 24.

"The world has a clear interest in a democratic Iraq because free nations do not breed the ideologies of terror. A free Iraq will serve as an example and an inspiration to advocates of reform and progress throughout the Middle East. And a free Iraq will be a source of stability and hope for that region," Bush added.

U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow described the conference as an "enormous vote of confidence in the Iraqi people and the process of restoring freedom and stability and peace to that country which has suffered too long. The funding is impressive."

Ayad Allawi, the current president of Iraq's governing council, called the Madrid Conference "a historic occasion for my country, which a little over six months ago was the black sheep of the international community."

"Today I am again proud to be an Iraqi," Allawi said. "Iraq has made many new friends. In the last few days I have met with representatives of dozens of countries who have offered to help us build a secure and stable future for our country.... The pledges made today will help us get back on our feet."

European Commissioner Chris Patten welcomed the agreement reached at the conference to establish multilateral trust funds, saying it will "provide an effective channel for international donors to provide assistance."

Snow said the trust funds, which will be set up under the United Nations and World Bank in the coming weeks, will "be subject to all the cleanest auditing processes imaginable."

Until the funds are set up, the first tranche of assistance will be made "through an existing U.N. trust fund which deals with this in conflict situations."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)