Rebuild Iraq or Daesh will return, US warns
Baghdad appeals for billions in reconstruction investment
added. “Iraq has the ingredients to grow, given its natural and human resources in various sectors.”
The three-day Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq is “a genuine invitation to invest in Iraq,” he said.
The US said it will extend a $3 billion credit line to Baghdad to help reconstruction. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged members of the international coalition fighting Daesh to help rebuild Iraq or risk a reversal of the gains made against the group.
“Doing business in Iraq can be complicated, but the Iraqi market has vast potential,” he said. The country has demonstrated it is “open for business,” he added.
“If communities in Iraq and Syria cannot return to normal life, we risk the return of conditions that allowed ISIS (Daesh) to take and control vast territory,” Tillerson said.
“It is equally important to show that ISIS and its violent ideology have failed. A government that is inclusive, accountable and transparent builds a society that can counter extremist ideologies.”
Sami Al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission, presented more than 200 projects open to investors, including oil refineries, massive housing and industrial ventures, transport projects and power plants.
Iraq said $22 billion is required immediately to kick-start its 10-year reconstruction plan. Non-governmental organizations on Monday pledged $330 million, but the main commitments are expected to be made by about 70 countries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for all of Iraq to benefit from “reconstruction, stabilization and national reconciliation.”
He said: “Reconstruction efforts should not leave out any region or community, especially those who have been marginalized in Iraq’s recent history.
“I am thinking in particular of Kurdistan, which took more than its share of the burden and the sacrifices.”
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is ready to answer a US call for it to expand its small training mission in Iraq to support reconstruction.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sent a letter to NATO last month calling for a formal train-and-advise mission, Reuters reported.