§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)I represented the United Kingdom at the Donors' Conference on Iraq held in Madrid on 23 and 24 October. My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Baroness Symons also attended.
The Conference was opened by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. A total of 73 countries attended, along with 20 international organisations and 13 non-governmental organisations. The Iraqi Governing Council was represented by their President, Dr. Ayad Allawi, and a number of other members. Iraqi Ministers also participated. The Conference was characterised by a strong and visible Iraq presence, as well as by a sense 25WS of the international community coming together to focus on how it can help Iraqis secure a stable and prosperous future.
Over US$33 billion in grants and concessional loans was pledged towards Iraq's reconstruction for the period 2004 to 2007, significantly exceeding expectations. $20 billion was pledged by the USA, $5 billion by Japan, $3 billion-$5 billion by the World Bank, $2.5 billion 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 26WS 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 my statement to the House on 14 October, I pledged £296 million over the next two years on behalf of the United Kingdom, bringing our total commitment in Iraq since April 2003 to £544m. This commitment will not result in any reduction in DFID's planned development expenditure for low income countries, or affect our commitment of £1bn 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
My speech to the Conference is on DFID's website: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/