The World Bank's Executive Board of Directors have expressed broad support for a proposed International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq to be presented at a donor's conference in Madrid on October 23-24, 2003.
The purpose of the Facility is to provide a coordination and trust fund mechanism for reconstruction and development in Iraq, in line with the priority areas emerging from the United Nations (UN)-World Bank joint needs assessment that was released earlier this month.
The proposed Facility will comprise two independent trust funds, one managed by the World Bank and the other by the UN. This structure reflects the comparative advantages that each institution can bring to the task of aiding reconstruction in the 14 priority sectors identified in the UN/World Bank needs assessments.
A Coordination Committee and a Secretariat will together ensure coherence in matching Iraq's national priorities with the resources available through the two funds, which will share a common termination date.
”It is critical to mobilize the donor community behind innovative solutions to help clear the way for the rapid reconstruction for Iraq," says World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn.
The facility is based on principles that normally apply to multi-donor trust funds in a post-conflict situation. The World Bank has managed trust funds in other post-conflict countries including Afghanistan, East Timor, and the West Bank and Gaza. The facility will complement existing options available to donors' contributing to the reconstruction of Iraq, which include direct funding to executing agencies.
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors also provided management with further flexibility around its indicative lending framework for Iraq and authorized the President to announce, at the upcoming donors' meeting in Madrid, that the Bank will offer support in the range of $3-5 billion over a five-year period. In addition to Board approval, lending to Iraq will be subject to other factors including debt sustainability, settlement of arrears, the security situation on the ground, and governance. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
