ICI Conference in Stockholm 29.5.2008

Representatives of nearly 100 countries took part on Thursday the 29th May in a conference in Stockholm, Sweden's capital. The UN called the conference to review a five-year package it brokered last year, called the International Compact with Iraq (ICI). The gathering followed the conference in May 2007 at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the Iraq Compact was launched.

In the Stockholm Conference participants represented governments, United Nations and European Union. There were no NGOs. Among the delegates in the Conference were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU High Representative Xavier Solana, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Thirteen Ministers of the central government represented Iraq, led by Prime Minister Noori Al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki asked the international community to relieve Iraq's debt. Officials said the move was aimed mainly at Arab countries, to which Iraq owes most of its 67 billion dollar debt. It dates from the time of Saddam Hussein's regime. The debt is owed to the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The request was aimed at supporting Iraq's efforts to restore stability and rebuild a functioning economy. Correspondents say progress in these areas remains fragile. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said before the Conference debt was not its subject.

Despite big hopes laid on the ICI Conference the arrangements of it reflected how fragile the situation is. Programme and participants of the delegations were announced only on the same day as the ICI Conference took place. Hope, optimism and need for reconciliation was expressed in many official speeches but difficult topics like the Kirkuk question or bombings of North Iraq were not mentioned.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih mentioned in his speech the need to implement the issue of the Disputed Territories and internal boundaries addressed by Article 140 ot the Constitution.

Condoleezza Rice repeated that US supports a unified Iraq. She repeated both in her press conference and in her speech in the ICI conference how the security situation in Iraq is getting better.

Rice refused to answer journalists who asked her to say the biggest mistake what US has made in Iraq. She said the historians will analyse the situation in a different way than people nowadays. She was sure that it was not a mistake to liberate Iraq because now the Iraqi people have a possibility to develop their country and Iraq can become a stabilising force in the Middle East.

Also the other speeches in the ICI Conference sounded similar to speeches held various times in other conferences. The Conference concentrated on issues related to the central government and Arab parts of Iraq. While listening the official speeches people who are unfamiliar to the situation in North Iraq could not imagine that every part of Iraq is not under chaotic conditions.