US sees Iraq neighbor meeting aimed at Iraqi integration
Iraq-USA, Politics, 5/1/2007

The May 3 launch of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) and the May 4 Expanded Ministerial Conference of the Neighbors of Iraq in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, are intended to facilitate Iraq's dialogue and better economic and political integration with its neighbors, a senior State Department official said April 30.

"We see both of these meetings as mirror images of each other. They are efforts to build a greater... dialogue with substantive components, between Iraq and the concentric rings of its neighbors, the region as a whole, [and] the international community," said Ambassador David Satterfield, who serves as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's senior adviser and coordinator for Iraq. Rice will attend both meetings.

The May 3 ministerial formally launches the ICI, an initiative co-chaired by the United Nations, the World Bank and Iraq, designed to build a framework for Iraqi security, good governance and regional economic integration. The initiative would help Iraq achieve its own vision of a stable and prosperous nation supported by a self-sustaining economy within five years.

The compact details a list of economic and trade reforms to which the Iraqi government has subscribed and has been implementing. The reforms include a law to ensure all Iraqis benefit from the country's hydrocarbon resources, proposed anti-corruption legislation and measures to accelerate the development of the country's private sector. As part of the compact, Iraq also agreed to reduce fuel subsidies, despite short-term political costs.

Satterfield said the ICI commits Iraq to "an open way of doing business," and the document to be signed in Sharm el-Sheikh "well merits the support of Iraq's neighbors, the Middle East as a whole, and the international community."

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for the Middle East and Africa Ahmed Saeed said the compact is comprehensive and has measurable benchmarks. It ranges "from commitments to strengthen public expenditure management to policies designed to improve health, education and the environment," he said.

He added that Iraq's Cabinet of Ministers unanimously endorsed the compact document in December 2006, "establishing a clear consensus on the direction and strategy for realizing Iraq's latent economic potential."

Besides wanting to encourage private investment, Iraq also needs debt forgiveness from its international creditors. Saeed said Saudi Arabia and perhaps the United Arab Emirates soon will announce commitments to provide debt relief.

"We have been urging countries, to offer as much debt relief as possible. The United States has offered 100 percent debt relief. The Paris Club has offered 80 percent debt relief, and the Paris Club includes coalition members like the United Kingdom," Saeed said. The Paris Club is a 19-nation informal group of creditor governments whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the debtor nations official debt payment problems.

The Bush administration also has requested $10 billion from the US Congress in economic and security assistance for Iraq as part of its 2008 fiscal year budget.

However, Saeed said the May 3 meeting "is not a pledging conference," but its goals instead are focused on the compact, "a very robust plan and a very detailed plan that the Iraqis have themselves developed... which, if they implement... they will actually have done something quite substantial."

The Iraqi government also invited its neighbors, as well as the European Union, the United States and the UN Security Council to a ministerial-level meeting May 4, which Satterfield said is aimed at discussing "the reality of what's happening in Iraq," in terms of security and the country's political reconciliation process.

"Clearly, a better dialogue needs to be established both ways between Iraq and its Arabic neighbors," he said, adding that it has been problematic that very few of Iraq's Arab neighbors have official representation on the ground there.

"It's been a problem as it would be a problem for us or for any other country in terms of second- and third-hand information flows, often with a deliberate slant or interpretation applied. We've strongly advocated, the Iraqis have strongly advocated for a more direct exchange of diplomatic representatives," he said.

Previous Stories:
  Bush cites progress with Iraq strategy   (4/23/2007)
  Senator Reid outlines different policy on Iraq   (4/23/2007)
  US Democrats challenge Bush on Iraq deadline   (4/23/2007)

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