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Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
World Bank Board endorses
management response
A parliament for Somalia
Common Code for the
Coffee Community
Corruption: World Bank sanctions Acres Ltd.
Development policy
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Peaceworkers wanted
Lending guidelines overhauled
Wieczorek-Zeul pledges
German assistance
Bad marks for the IMF
10/2004
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[ Iraq ]
Wieczorek-Zeul pledges German assistance
“Germany has a fundamental interest in seeing Iraq develop into a stable country in which the Iraqi people decide their future as a sovereign nation”, German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul told the press after her talks at the beginning of September in Berlin with Iraq's President Ghasi Al-Jawar. It made no difference where the German government stood on the war in Iraq, she added. “I also stressed in our talks that enduring, long-term peace is only possible if the people have prospects of development and security.”
The German government is already working together with Iraq’s internationally recognised transitional government. At the Iraq donor conference in Madrid in October last year, the German government pledged 200 million euros for its bilateral and multilateral engagement aimed at rebuilding Iraq . “We will also participate in the international Iraq donor conference in Tokyo next October”, Wieczorek-Zeul announced.
On the multilateral front, the German government supports UN, European Union and World Bank programmes for the reconstruction of Iraq. Within the framework of bilateral work, the Development Ministry at present finances basic and upgrade training in Germany for Iraqi university lecturers and high-ranking officials from Iraq ministries. Those officials took advantage of the chance to learn more about German development cooperation, including cooperation with other Arab countries. “We thus promote a concept which takes account of the whole of the Middle East and encourage more cooperation between the countries in the region”, the minister stressed.
More bilateral programmes are planned, focusing on economic recovery, agriculture, promotion of private enterprise and vocational training. “All this shows that we are serious about supporting sovereign Iraq,” said Wieczorek-Zeul. “But we cannot send German staff into Iraq at present because of the extremely difficult security situation in the country.” And any significant expansion of German development cooperation with Iraq, she added, is precluded by the difficult budgetary situation of her ministry.
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