From the G7 declaration and the Liaison Group Meeting ....
On April 12, 2003, the Group of Seven (G-7) Industrial Country finance ministers and central bank governors called for a multilateral effort to rebuild and develop Iraq, with the United Nations and the World Bank coordinating donor support. UN Security Council Resolution 1483, approved on May 22, 2003, directed the international financial institutions to support the Iraq reconstruction drive and to develop a mechanism that would encourage the involvement of a broad range of donors. On June 24, 2003, the UN hosted a conference of nearly 50 concerned nations, which came to be known as the Liaison Group. In turn, the Liaison Group asked a handful of major contributors to convene an international conference of prospective donor nations.
The Liaison Group turned to the UN and the World Bank for an in-depth assessment of Iraq’s needs, financial and otherwise, and to design a multidonor trust fund that would direct contributions to Iraq’s priority requirements. Organizers then scheduled a conference of Donor Nations in Madrid for late October.
... to the Madrid Conference. Given the clear need for a targeted program to rebuild Iraq, 73 countries, along with several multilateral agencies and international NGOs, sent delegates to the Madrid Conference in October 23-24, 2003. The conference reviewed a Joint Needs Assessment prepared for the meeting. Carried out by the World Bank and UNDP and coordinated with Iraqi authorities, the assessment listed priority reconstruction projects and the estimated cost of each. Contributing countries subsequently pledged more than $32 billion. The Madrid Conference announced the establishment of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, to be administered by the World Bank and UNDG in close coordination with the Iraqi authorities and donors. |
