Iraq gets promise of 30 billion USD to help its reconstruction

KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Total contributions by countries participating in Kuwait International Conference on Reconstruction of Iraq (KICRI) reached 30 billion U.S. dollars, Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said Wednesday.

He made the announcement at the closing session of the conference.

This amount came from 76 participating countries, along with 51 international development funds, 107 local and international NGOs, in addition to 1,850 representatives from the private sector, he said.

In a press conference after the session Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said the amount of contributions announced at the conference, including investments and grants, do not meet all the needs for Iraq, but they were not small, adding that they will continue to seek investment, which is an important economic factor to overcome Iraqi ordeal.

Iraqi Planning Minister Salman Al Jumaili on Monday said that reconstruction in Iraq requires 88.2 billion U.S. dollars.

According to a report provided at the conference by the minister, the total damage in Iraq by anti-IS military operations amounted to 45.7 billion dollars, the most affected sectors in this country by the war against IS include housing sector, power, industry and commerce, oil and gas and transport.

KICRI, kicked off Monday and concluded today, brought together several economic powers, as well as regional and international organizations, to make contributions to rebuilding Iraq after many years of war and conflict that ripped through various parts of the country. Enditem