The donor conference on aid for Iraq held in Madrid over the last two days has come closer than expected to meeting its short to medium term targets on aid for recovery and reconstruction.
This signals that some of the divisions arising from the war, and the conduct of policy by the United States after it, have now modified sufficiently to allow other states make a greater commitment. The conference pledged $20 billion. Together with the US pledge of $20 billion this total is within sight of the estimated $55 billion required by 2007 to repair Iraq's basic physical and human infrastructure and enable its economy to function effectively once again after more than two decades of war and sanctions.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said at the conference that "ten days ago everyone was saying there would be no UN resolution, that the UN Secretary General would have nothing to do with this. Now he's encouraged everyone to participate". In the meantime the UN Security Council passed a unanimous resolution on Iraq, on the basis of which Mr Kofi Annan called on donors in Madrid to give generously so that reconstruction can be internationally funded even before sovereignty is transferred back to Iraqis. Japan, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were among the states pledging more than expected, while the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund led the way among the agencies.
France and Germany are notably absent from the current list of donors, with the European Union states as a whole pledging some €1.3 billion. Spain and Britain are the largest donors among them, reflecting attitudes to the war and the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty. Ireland's pledge of €3 million is aimed at humanitarian and recovery aid and basic needs for Iraqi women and children. These funds are intended for such basic facilities as education and health, employment, roads and transport systems, agricultural production and water and to help rebuild governmental and civil society institutions.
So far progress by the US-led occupying powers has been very uneven. Basic security remains lacking, affecting business confidence and international readiness to make longer term commitments for reconstruction. These problems will not be fully overcome until there is an agreed timetable for returning sovereignty to Iraq. They are made more difficult by the huge debts (up to $160 billion in all) overhanging that state, arising from previous wars and its oil economy, which require an estimated $13 billion annually to service.
Iraq is a wealthy state capable of reaching high levels of development once it is relieved of the burdens of dictatorship, occupation and international isolation. This donor conference has made a useful start in its reconstruction. Further progress will depend on resolving the serious outstanding political questions it still faces.