The United Nations Development Group Thursday invited donors to contribute to a newly established International Reconstruction Fund Facility For Iraq, a mechanism which will allow governments to contribute to the rebuilding of Iraqs economy and infrastructure through projects administered by UN agencies and the World Bank.
The Facility will have two trust funds operating under joint UN-World Bank coordination. Donors will have the option of channeling resources through the World Bank Iraq Trust Fund, to be administered by the Bank, and-or the UNDG Iraq Trust Fund, to be administered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on behalf of itself and other participating UN organizations.
Beginning in 2004, funding from the Facility will be used to address priorities identified in the Needs Assessment carried out in Iraq this past summer by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), in consultation with the International Monetary Fund.
The new Facility, officially unveiled at a meeting of UN and World Bank officials and interested governments at UN headquarters in New York, was created in response to a request from the international donor community at a UN-sponsored forum on aid to Iraq in June.
The Facility was developed on the basis of further discussions with Iraqi authorities and donor representatives between August and December in New York, Brussels, Washington, Dubai, Madrid and Amman.
The Facility is designed to provide a vehicle for donors to channel their resources and coordinate their support for financing priority expenditures in Iraq, including reconstruction activities, sector-wide programmes, investment projects, technical assistance and other development activities.
It will complement existing options available to donors wishing to contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq, which include direct funding to executing agencies.
As noted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his report on Iraq to the Security Council Wednesday, the UNDG Trust Fund will focus on technical assistance in relevant sectors, quick-impact projects and transition activities that need to be implemented in a rapid and flexible manner.
Julia Taft, the UNDG representative at Thursdays meeting, announced that as of today the UNDG fund is available to receive contributions from donors.
Close coordination is achieved through a joint Donor Committee and a unified UN-World Bank Facility Coordination Committee, working in partnership with Iraqi authorities. Disbursements from the International Reconstruction Fund Facility will adhere to standard UN and World Bank oversight and procurement practices.
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