Visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said
Friday that France is prepared to collaborate in the
reconstruction of Iraq, but that country must advance
towards the "political" solution of its crisis.
"France along with its partners, and in particular
within the European Union (EU), is prepared to
contribute to the political and economic reconstruction
of Iraq," he told a press conference in Mexico.
France will participate along with the Group of Eight,
the Arab League and Iraq's neighbors, in the Sharm el
Sheik (Egypt) Conference, scheduled for Nov. 22-23, to
discuss the economic reconstruction of Iraq and its
security situation.
"We participate in Sharm el Sheik with a positive mind,
wishingfor this event to contribute to the transition
process considered in Resolution 1546 of the United
Nations Security Council, and that it be supported by
the region's countries," he said.
Raffarin insisted the problem of Iraq is "political" and
that the terms established by the Security Council for
the transition -which includes elections in January-
must be respected.
Major economic powers agreed to write off US$31 billion
ReplyDelete(euro24 billion) of Iraqi debt in a major breakthrough
for U.S.-led efforts to get Iraq's economy back on its
feet.
Months of intensive lobbying by Washington finally paid
off when the other 18 members of the Paris Club agreed
to wipe 80 percent of the US$39 billion (euro30 billion)
that Iraq owes them.
The cut represents about a quarter of Iraq's total
international debt. But the three-stage deal announced
Sunday also represents a significant concession by
countries that opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq,
such as France, Germany and Russia, which had expressed
reluctance to forgive much more than half of Iraq's
debt.
French President Jacques Chirac said in June that going
any further could be seen as unfair to poorer countries
with heavy international liabilities but without Iraq's
oil wealth.
In a sign that a compromise was near, however, German
Finance Minister Hans Eichel publicly endorsed an 80
percent write-off on Saturday after talks with Snow.
France, which has been pushing to improve ties with
Washington since U.S. President George W. Bush's
re-election earlier this month, also backed the
proposal, and Russia eventually followed suit Sunday
after a further night of talks.
Paris Club chairman Jean-Pierre Jouyet said 30 percent
of Iraq's Paris Club debt would be wiped immediately
under the deal struck Sunday, with a further 30 percent
canceled when Iraq agrees on a reform program with the
International Monetary Fund, expected next year.
Iraqi Finance Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi hailed what he
called a "historic agreement,'' reached Sunday after six
days of talks in the French capital.
"This money is needed for Iraq not only because Iraq is
a ruined country but because Iraq is an important player
internationally,'' Abdul-Mahdi said.
"What will happen in Iraq will affect politically and
economically the Middle East and the world.''
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow also welcomed the debt
cut as a "real milestone.''
Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Berlin of
finance officials from the Group of 20 industrial and
developing nations, he said it "shows the trans-Atlantic
alliance remains a strong force for good in the world.''
The United States had been pressing for as much as 95
percent of Iraq's Paris Club debt to be written off,
arguing that it was hindering postwar reconstruction
efforts that are already challenged by the ongoing war
against armed insurgents.
The final 20 percent will be forgiven upon completion of
the IMF program in 2008, the chairman said, reducing
Iraq's Paris Club debt to US$7.8 billion (euro6
billion).
Jouyet said the club had also "shown its flexibility''
by agreeing to a three-year waiver of repayments on the
remaining debt. "Iraq will be able to concentrate its
entire resources on reconstruction,'' he said.
Jouyet, Snow and Abdul-Mahdi all called for similar
levels of Iraqi debt forgiveness from non-Paris Club
lenders, to which Iraq currently owes another US$80
billion (euro60 billion).
Under a "comparability clause'' in the agreement, the
Paris Club could theoretically suspend part of the debt
reduction if it were not matched by Iraq's other major
creditors - led by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The Paris Club's members are Australia, Canada, Japan,
South Korea, Russia, Switzerland, the United States and
the richer European Union countries, including Britain,
France, Germany and Italy.