US activists ought to be working with Belgian, Spanish, and other European activists to protest the UN/IMF/WB preparatory conference in Brussels on September 3 and the UN/IMF/WB/Rich "Donor" Nations' Governments conference in Madrid on October 23-24.
***** U.N., IMF, World Bank to discuss Iraqi needs Reuters, 08.22.03, 4:42 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N., World Bank and IMF officials will meet in Belgium early next month to lay the groundwork for a conference in Spain on raising money to help rebuild Iraq, a U.N. official said Friday.
Delegates from more than 50 countries are expected to attend the later Oct. 23-24 gathering in Madrid of world governments interested in contributing to the cost of Iraqi reconstruction.
A preparatory conference for the Madrid meeting will take place Sept. 3 in Brussels, U.N. chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said. . . .
Eckhard said work "has almost been completed" on the needs assessment, which is being prepared by the the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund with help from other agencies and the European Union.
<http://www.forbes.com/iraq/newswire/2003/08/22/rtr1064870.html> *****
Cf.
***** Iraq: The United Nations Presence The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is supporting institution-building in Iraq and has sent a series of missions, including on monetary matters and fiscal affairs, which have been working on draft legislation for a new central bank law and bank licensing, among others. The fiscal affairs group has also been examining public expenditure management and development of a consolidated budget framework. . . .
. . . Although Iraq does not have any outstanding loans from the IMF, it does have arrears of close to $72 million. Fund officials have been in regular contact with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the people in the central bank of Iraq and the Finance Ministry, as well as with donors or potential donors for a possible conference, likely to be held in the next few months.
Although there is some concern about a lack of a formal relationship, i.e., a recognized government, this has not precluded the IMF from beginning the first step in institution-building. This is not unique, however. Similar situations had been the case in the Balkans following the conflict there, as well as in Afghanistan, where the IMF had been working closely with the World Bank and UN organizations, as well as other international bodies and Governments. . . .
<http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/section/080103_imf.asp> *****
***** Financial Times (London) August 22, 2003, Friday London Edition 2 SECTION: MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA; Pg. 7 LENGTH: 526 words HEADLINE: World Bank will complete cost assessment on time BYLINE: By EDWARD ALDEN DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY: The World Bank said yester-day it would still complete on time a critical assessment of the costs of rebuilding Iraq's economy, in spite of a decision to pull the bank's staff out of Baghdad following Tuesday's lethal bomb attack. . . .
Joseph Saba, the World Bank's country director for Iraq, told reporters yesterday that the decision to relocate staff to Amman, the Jordanian capital, would not prevent the completion by the end of September of a needs assessment for Iraq.
The assessment, which focuses on 14 sectors, will be the core document for a conference of international donors in October that the US is hoping will result in billions of dollars in new pledges for rebuilding the country.
"The fact that we took some efforts this week in the light of this rather murderous blast to protect our employees does not mean in any way that we have abandoned the purpose we set out for in Iraq," Mr Saba said. . . .
The International Monetary Fund, which saw all six of its staff in Iraq injured in the blast, said that it would continue work for the moment from outside the country.
The World Bank has gone further in ending its presence in the country entirely, removing all 15 staff. The bank said in a statement yesterday that the evacuation would be temporary "while it reassesses the security situation".
"The bank stands ready to return to Iraq when appropriate security arrangements to ensure the safety of staff can be made," it said. . . . *****
-- Yoshie
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