22 April 2008
Meetings Signal Iraq's Regional Reintegration, Rice Says
Neighbors meeting addresses political, security challenges facing Iraq
Washington -- The expanded Iraq neighbors meeting in Kuwait has emerged as a forum for the international community to address political, economic and security challenges facing Iraq and the region, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
"The United States remains committed to fostering a sovereign and democratic and prosperous and unified Iraq, a federal Iraq that is at peace with itself and with its neighbors," Rice says.
Senior representatives from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden and the United States attended a daylong meeting of Iraq's neighbors April 22 in Kuwait City. In addition, representatives of the United Nations, the European Union presidency, NATO, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League also attended the neighbors meeting.
Talks focused on Iraq's debt to neighboring nations, diplomatic representation in Baghdad, enhancing Iraq's security, intelligence sharing and border controls. Previous neighbors meetings were held at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in May 2007 and in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2007.
Rice said that, since the Istanbul meeting, violence in Iraq has declined and the Iraqi government has enacted legislation on its budget, provincial powers, de-Baathification reform, pensions and amnesty. "They have significantly improved Iraq's budget execution and they are now allocating more of Iraq's own budget to build the infrastructure and provide the services that the Iraqi people expect from their elected government," Rice said.
Rice also said Iraq has made major strides in fostering reconciliation and transcending sectarian identities.
While some of Iraq's neighbors have provided assistance by hosting Iraqi refugees, it is also important for Iraq to increase substantially its contributions to assist displaced Iraqis and to prepare for their safe and voluntary return, Rice said.
"The United States has already made available $208 million and plans to contribute an additional $70 million this year toward the more than $900 million in assistance appeals for displaced Iraqis," she said.
Rice said that Iraq requires regional and international support if it is to succeed. "We urge Iraq's neighbors and friends to strengthen these ties through the reopening of embassies and consulates, the appointment of ambassadors, and participation at the ministerial level in the first anniversary meeting of the International Compact with Iraq in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 29th," she said.
Rice told reporters that the meetings in Kuwait City and the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, which representatives of Jordan and Egypt also attended, April 21 in Bahrain were two days spent focusing on regional stability. "I think it's been a very good couple of days in terms of Iraq being reintegrated into the neighborhood," she said.
She said a number of countries at the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed their desire to have permanent representatives in Iraq and the necessary arrangements would have to be made.
"There was also a discussion of the importance of debt relief, and we had an extensive discussion of the activities that the Iraqi government is undertaking toward reconciliation and dealing with militias," Rice said in Bahrain.
A significant step was achieved when it was announced that Iraq now would routinely attend the Gulf Cooperation Council meetings, she said, which signaled Iraq's reintegration into regional affairs.
