The British government said on Thursday that it would give £65 million or $124 million immediately to its pledged amount of money earmarked for the reconstruction of Iraq, in a statement made by International Development Secretary Hilary Benn.
Benn said the initial payment would be made to the new International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq as part of Britain's total pledge of £544 million ($1.03 billion) made at last year's donor conference in Madrid, Spain. The money will be part of an international fund managed by the World Bank and the United Nations (UN).
"Our aim is to help make Iraq a confident country once again by encouraging economic growth, political accountability and social cohesion," Benn said. He told a news conference that the trust fund would focus on providing public services, such as health and education, and allow a more coordinated approach to reconstruction than programs established by individual countries.
Source: COMTEX
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