US Outlines Future Steps in Iraq's Reconstruction

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 23, 2003

US Outlines Future Steps in Iraq's Reconstruction

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Senior US officials on Sunday unveiled plans for Iraq's economic reconstruction and political transformation, vowing to turn the war-battered country into a democratic and prosperous leader in the Middle East.

Outlining reconstruction steps at a session on post-war Iraq during the World Economic Forum (WEF) extraordinary meeting in Jordan, US chief administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer said the first job is to provide security and maintain law and order.

A new Iraqi army will begin enlisting soldiers in two weeks, he said.

Referring to Iraqis' increasing attacks on US forces, Bremer said: "The coalition will not let the last vestiges of Saddam's regime turn the clock back."

The US governor also mapped out political transformation in Iraq at the session during the WEF meeting, where Iraq's reconstruction was one of the three major topics.

A political council will be established next month and will "have real authority from its first day," Bremer said. "It will nominate ministry heads and form commissions to recommend policies concerning issues significant to Iraq's future."

A broad constitutional conference will also be convened, run entirely by Iraqis, to draft a new constitution, he added.

One of the strategic goals in the next several months is to "reallocate people and resources from state enterprises to the private firms" by reducing subsidies and special deals for state enterprises.

By these policies, Bremer noted, the United States seeks vigorous competition, fiscal discipline, as well as low inflation and interest rates for Iraq's economy.

In the economic plan for Iraq, the United States also envisionsan open Iraqi market by regulating its commercial rules, introducing free trade and attracting foreign investment.

Bremer was joined in the session by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Jordanian Prime Minster Ali Abu Ragheb, Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello of the UN secretary-general in Iraq and Chairman Richard Lugar of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Moussa stressed that the Arab world "will not understand the role of a political council. Even a transitional government would be better."

The Arab League chief urged Arab countries to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, saying they would prefer to work with Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations.

Bremer's reconstruction ideas were later echoed by US Secretaryof State Colin Powell, who told the WEF that the Iraqis will have the full support of the United States and the rest of the coalition.

The coalition and the international community "are now coming together again after drifting apart early in the year," Powell said.

"We will leave as soon as the job is done," he said.

The three-day WEF meeting, which opened on Saturday, attracted 1,500 political and business leaders, half of them from the Arab world. The participants also discussed the future of the Middle East and the world economy and business after the Iraq war.

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