Progress in Iraq
Secretary Rice (May 29): "...Iraq is making good progress at integrating itself more fully into its region and to its world. The successive neighbors meetings that we have been holding are bearing fruit, and Iraq should be commended for its commitment to developing strong, long-term relations in its neighborhood and with the world....And since the Compact was launched, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, and Russia have agreed to major reductions in Iraq’s Saddam-era debt, and we encourage countries that have not yet done so to do so promptly."
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Secretary of State Rice travelied to Sweden and Iceland from May 28 to May 30.
In Stockholm, she participated in the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), which remains a central focus of our efforts to work with the Iraqi government on a clear, measurable plan of economic reforms. Since the launching of the Compact, Iraq’s donors have stepped forward to reduce Iraq’s Saddam-era debts by a total of $18 billion, and partner funding commitments to the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) have risen by more than $300 million. She met with donors who have worked bilaterally to build ministerial and provincial capacity and increase the involvement of the private sector. She also met separately with senior Swedish officials to discuss issues of bilateral importance. In Reykjavik, she met with senior Icelandic officials to discuss important bilateral and regional issues.
--05/30/08 Remarks With Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir
--05/29/08 Interview With Michael Winiarski of Dagens Nyheter
--05/29/08 Remarks at The Iraq Compact Conference
--05/29/08 Remarks With Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
--05/28/08 Remarks En Route Stockholm, Sweden
--05/29/08 On-the-Record Briefing by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert Kimmitt
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