UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Thursday announced that countries attending the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) have pledged financial commitments of over 30 billion U.S. dollars to Iraq to reduce the debt of the war-torn country.

Speaking at a press conference jointly held with Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Ban said the specific financial commitments by particular countries are estimated at over 30 billion dollars.

The commitments include commitments of debt relief terms of the Paris Club from Bulgaria, China, Saudi Arabia and Greece, as well as new financial commitments from the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Denmark and Republic of Korea among others, Ban added.

In 2004, a group of 19 creditor governments of the Paris Club from major industrialized nations agreed to cancel 32 billion dollars in debt, 80 percent of the debt owed by the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

For his part, Maliki termed the ICI conference a defining point in his country's history as the ministerial conference launched the ICI, which represented a road map for the next five years aimed at helping Iraq achieve its goals of economic prosperity, political stability and lasting security.

The Iraqi government has the ability to maintain security and stability in Iraq, Maliki added.

Meanwhile, Abul Gheit expressed Egypt's support to the Iraqi reconciliation efforts and the build-up of the Iraqi army and security forces.

Co-chaired by Iraq and the UN and with the support of the World Bank, the ICI initiative offers benchmarks for economic integration, increased security and good governance in the war- torn country.

The ICI was initially launched in July 2006, in the hope of creating "a permanent partnership between Iraq and the international community" to help Iraq in its reconstruction efforts and to pursue political, economic and social development over the next five years.

The one-day ICI meeting gathered foreign ministers, senior diplomats and representatives from some 60 nations and 12 regional and international organizations.

Source: Xinhua