Baghdad hosts conference to reconstruct areas liberated from ISIS control
Representational photo.
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – The Iraqi government organized Monday an international conference in Baghdad to reconstruct liberated areas from ISIS control in northern and western parts of the country.
57 companies represent 16 Arab and western countries participated in the conference.
Infrastructure of power stations and governmental facilities in provinces and areas that were under the control of militants suffered significant losses worth billions of dollars.
Director of Baghdad International Fairground Zainab Naser, in a press statement, explained that the conference aims to attract Arab and foreign companies to start reconstructing areas liberated from the grip of ISIS.
“Companies participating in the conference are mainly from Japan, USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, China, Italy, France and Lebanon,” Naser said. “The companies are specialized in reconstruction, construction materials, contracting and infrastructure-establishment,” she added.
The financial crisis exacerbated in Iraq because of the decline of oil prices in international markets and the increase of military expenditure due to the ongoing fight against ISIS terrorist group in different parts of the country.
In addition to governors of provinces included in the reconstruction plan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) is also participating in the conference that will last for four days.
Iraq received two billion dollars last July in the donors’ conference held in Washington DC. The amount is dedicated for the reconstruction of areas liberated from the grip of ISIS, but estimations suggest that the extent of the damage requires much more.
Iraqi military forces backed by international coalition fight ISIS militants in several places in Iraq since the middle of 2014.