By Xinhua,
Stockholm : Despite a strong push from Washington and the Iraqi authorities, little action on debt relief was seen at the Stockholm conference on Iraq.
Both U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pressed Arab creditors to reduce debts owed by Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Maliki argued that the Iraqi people should not repay the debts, which were mainly the result of wars with neighboring countries.
“Iraq did not benefit from this, has only reaped destruction and damage and ruined relations with neighbors,” Maliki told a press conference on Thursday.
He said it is legitimate for Iraq to ask for debt relief as the country no longer poses a threat to peace in the region.
Maliki said the debts, as well as international sanctions on Iraq, imposed after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, are obstacles to Iraq’s economic development.
However, the biggest Arab creditors — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — failed to make concrete promises at the conference.
The Paris Club, which groups the world’s richest countries in the West, agreed to forgive 80 percent of Iraq’s debts a week before the Stockholm conference. The United States, a member of the Paris Club, would write off Iraq’s debts altogether.
“So far we have not heard from the other countries that have not taken decisions in order to reduce the debts, just like the Paris Club countries,” said Maliki.
“We hope the positive support that we have obtained (at the conference) constitutes a message to those friendly states to follow suit.”
Analysts believe that Sunni-dominated Arab creditors, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are wary of Shi’ite Iran’s influence on the Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shi’ite Muslims and Kurds.
Sunni Muslims, who had governed Iraq during Saddam’s rule, now feel marginalized in Iraqi politics.
The major Sunni political bloc, the Accordance Front, withdrew from Iraq’s national unity government in August. On the eve of the Stockholm conference, the bloc walked out of talks to rejoin the government.
The final declaration of the conference also urges Arab states to reduce Iraq’s debts.
“To further support Iraq’s economic development, creditors external to the Paris Club were encouraged to consider resolving outstanding debts to Iraq on Paris Club or similar terms,” says the declaration.
On the issue of sanctions, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this is something that the UN Security Council should decide.
“As secretary general, I will try to help where I can, in coordination with Security Council members,” said Ban.
“While Iraq, in close coordination with the international community, moves to address all the challenges which it faces, Iraq will be able to gain the credibility, confidence and trust from the international community in trying to eliminate all the elements which have led the Iraqi government to (be put) under Chapter VII sanctions,” he said.
The Stockholm conference was held to evaluate the situation in Iraq one year after the launch of the International Compact with Iraq, under which Iraq promised reforms in exchange for greater international support.
The participants hailed progress in Iraq five years after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
“While noting the continuing political, security and humanitarian challenges facing Iraq, the participants of the Stockholm conference recognized the important efforts made by the (Iraqi) government to improve security and public order and combat terrorism and sectarian violence across Iraq,” reads the declaration.
Ban was upbeat about the improvement of the situation in Iraq.
“Indeed, notable progress has been made in all three pillars of the (International) Compact — in the security, political and economic fields, despite the challenges,” Ban said in his opening speech.
“If I were asked to use one word to describe the situation in Iraq today, I would choose the word ‘hope’,” he said.