Germany renews commitment to Iraq’s stability
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Tobias Lindner shaking hands with the UNDP representative in Iraq Auke Lootsma. Photo: UNDP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Germany renewed its commitment to Iraq’s stability with an additional contribution of 10 million euros (approximately 10.5 million USD), according to a press statement issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The critical support will be channeled through UNDP’s flagship program, the Funding Facility for Stabilization. The generous contribution was formalized at a signing ceremony on Wednesday during the visit of the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Tobias Lindner, to Iraq, the statement elaborated.
The German Federal Foreign Office generously provided over 130 million USD since the facility was established in 2015, bringing the total of German contributions to UNDP’s stabilization efforts to 575.4 million USD, the statement mentioned.
The funding will allow the UNDP to continue with its integrated stabilization support through rehabilitating public infrastructure and services damaged during ISIS conflict, providing municipalities capacity support to deliver effective public services and strengthening social cohesion and community-based reintegration, the statement explained.
“Working alongside the Iraqi government, the UNDP completed over 3,400 critical stabilization projects including restoring essential services, supporting livelihoods, building municipal capacity and strengthened community-based reintegration,” UNDP representative in Iraq, Auke Lootsma, said
“Our efforts in 2023 will further focus on addressing the critical needs, priority locations and sectors, to safeguard the hard-won stabilization gains made since 2015 to ensure a sustainable transition,” Lootsma added.
“When it was set up, few had foreseen what success the Funding Facility for Stabilization would become. Over the past seven years, the facility has proven instrumental in safeguarding the gains made against ISIS through civilian means. It was such a success that its model has been emulated in other conflict settings across the Middle East and Africa,” Lindner explained.
In mid-2015, the UNDP established the Funding Facility for Stabilization to assist the government in rebuilding Iraq after the ISIS conflict, the statement clarified. The facility works with the Iraqi government and local actors to ensure safe, dignified and voluntary returns and to lay the foundation for reintegrating displaced populations into the community, the statement added.