HL Deb 10 November 2003 vol 654 cc154-5WA
Lord Desai

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the outcome of the Madrid Donors' Conference on Iraq. [HL5284]

Baroness Amos

The Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, represented the United Kingdom at the Donors' Conference on Iraq held in Madrid on 23 and 24 October. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and my noble friend Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean also attended.

The conference was opened by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. A total of 73 countries attended, with 20 international organisations and 13 non-governmental organisations. The Iraqi Governing Council was represented by its President, Dr Ayad Allawi, and a number of other members. Iraqi Ministers also participated. The conference was characterised by a strong and visible Iraqi presence, as well as by a sense of the international community coming together to focus on how it can help Iraqis to secure a stable and prosperous future.

Over 33 billion US dollars in grants and concessional loans was pledged towards Iraq's reconstruction for the period 2004 to 2007, significantly exceeding expectations. Twenty billion dollars was pledged by the USA, 5 billion dollars by Japan, 3 billion to 5 billion dollars by the World Bank, 2.5 billion dollars by the IMF, and the rest by other bilateral donors, mainly from European and Arab countries. Additional pledges were made by way of export credits and assistance in kind.

In addition to the finance committed at Madrid, Iraq's investment needs are expected to be met increasingly by oil revenues, foreign direct investment and commercial lending once Iraq's debts have been rescheduled through the Paris Club. Another donor meeting could be called in the future if necessary.

As set out in a statement made in another place by Hilary Benn on 14 October, DfID pledged £296 million over the next two years on behalf of the United Kingdom, bringing the total commitment in Iraq since April 2003 to £544 million. This commitment will not result in any reduction in DfID's planned development expenditure for low-income countries, or affect our commitment of £1 billion for Africa by 2005–06. Nor will it result in any reductions to existing programme commitments in the current financial year.

The conference chair's conclusions can be found on the conference website: http://www.comisionadoiraq. org/donors/index_ing.htm. Hilary Benn's speech to the conference is on DfID's website: www.dfid.gov.uk.