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 by Staff Writers Kuwait City (AFP) Feb 12, 2018
Iraq needs $88.2 billion to rebuild after years of war against the Islamic State group, Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili said Monday, as an international conference on the country's reconstruction opened in Kuwait. Iraq hopes to raise billions of dollars in pledges at the three-day meeting, as the country reels from the rise of IS and punishing fightback against the jihadist group. Baghdad declared victory against IS in December, after almost three years of war against the jihadist group that left large swathes of the country destroyed and millions displaced. The $88.2 billion estimate was based on an assessment study by Iraqi and international experts, the planning minister said. Qusai Abdelfattah, director general at the planning ministry, said $22 billion of those funds were needed immediately and the rest for the medium term. "We have started some reconstruction programmes in areas affected by war," said Mustafa al-Hiti, head of the reconstruction fund for areas hit in the fight against IS. "But what we have accomplished is less than one percent of what Iraq needs," Hiti said. He said funds are urgently needed to "restore basic and infrastructure services" in many provinces. "We have more than 138,000 houses damaged, more than half this number completely destroyed," Hiti said, adding that more than 2.5 million Iraqis are still displaced. Since the 1980s, resource-rich Iraq has been battered by war and international economic sanctions.
France FM visits Iraq to discuss reconstruction Baghdad (AFP) Feb 12, 2018 - France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Iraq on Monday to discuss the war-torn country's reconstruction with Iraqi officials after Baghdad declared victory against the Islamic State jihadist group. "I have come to tell you of France's support and to accompany you. We will always be there. We were there to participate in the coalition. We will also be there in the reconstruction phase," Le Drian said. France has been a key member of the US-led military coalition fighting IS after the jihadist group seized large swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014. Baghdad is looking to drum up funds at a reconstruction conference in neighbouring Kuwait from Monday to Wednesday after announcing the defeat of IS nationwide at the end of last year. "We hope French expertise will be used for the reconstruction," Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari replied. Le Drian, who previously visited Baghdad in August last year, is also to meet Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, President Fuad Massum and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi. Iraq is still reeling from the rise of IS and the punishing fightback it took to crush the jihadists, with swathes of its territory in ruins and millions of people displaced. Authorities in the resource-rich nation say there has been a heavy toll on oil, electricity and manufacturing infrastructure, as well as basic services such as water and sanitation. Baghdad needs to raise $100 billion to rebuild, Abadi has said, after the fight against IS and decades of sanctions and war.
Iraq asks BP to study developing Kirkuk oilfields Baghdad (AFP) Feb 11, 2018 Iraq has asked British energy giant BP to help bolster production at oilfields recaptured from the Kurds in northern Kirkuk province, Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi said Sunday. Luaybi told AFP he wanted to discuss a request for BP to draft a study on increasing output when the company's boss visits Kirkuk in the coming days. "I suggested they study my proposal and I am waiting for their reply," Luaybi said. BP is the biggest foreign player in Iraq's oil sector, running the Rumaila field in t ... read more
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