LOC23:51
20:51 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (KUNA) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
informed the Security Council that his Government has taken the necessary
arrangements for the post Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), whose UN
supervision ends later this month, including for the five percent of oil sales
to be deposited in the Compensation Fund.
Zebari annexed to a letter to Council President, Gabon, circulated on
Tuesday, a report containing measures and decisions Baghdad took towards a
"full and effective" transition to a post-Development Fund mechanism that will
enable Iraq to fulfill its obligations under relevant Council resolutions.
The Council decided last December in resolution 1956 to terminate, on June
30 2011, the arrangements for depositing into the DFI proceeds from Iraqi oil
and natural gas sales, and called on Baghdad to finalize the "full and
effective" transition to a post DFI mechanism, including external auditing
arrangements, and continue to pay the five percent to the victims of the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
"We should like to inform the Security Council that the Government of Iraq
has completed the arrangements that will ensure full and effective transition
to such a mechanism," Zebari wrote in his letter to Council President.
Those measures, he indicated, include arrangements for the external
auditing of accounts; deduction of the five percent compensation percentage
"or any other lesser percentage;" and settlement of the foreign debts of Iraq.
He explained that in replacement of the DFI account, a new account will be
opened in the name of the Government of Iraq, to be held by the Central Bank
of Iraq at the US Federal Reserve Bank, and transfer will be made to that new
account of all the financial assets currently held in the DFI and any other
Iraqi Government assets.
Concerning proceeds from export sales of oil and natural gas, he said the
UN Secretariat "will be consulted with a view to finding a transparent
mechanism to ensure that five per cent or any other lesser percentage is
deducted and deposited to the UN Compensation Fund".
This will also ensure that Iraq will be able to continue to meet its UN
obligations, he said.
As to the arrangements for the external auditing, Zibari said a request was
made and proposals were received from four firms to audit the DFI successor
account. They are Ernst Young; PricewaterhouseCoopers; KPMG; and Deloitte.
Among other arrangements, he said, the Iraqi Committee of Financial Experts
will replace the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) starting
July 1, 2011.
He finally said that Iraq will continue its serious attempts to settle its
foreign debts in accordance with the Paris Club agreement that was signed in
November 2004.
KUNA learned that Iraq will send a delegation later this month to discuss
with the UN Secretariat this and other issues.
In a related matter, it was announced here that Under-Secretary General for
Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe returned to New York today after a three-day
visit to Iraq where he held discussions with senior Iraqi officials and
leaders in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Erbil, as well as with the UN Mission for Iraq
(UNAMI).
A UN spokesman said that in his discussions, including with Prime Minister
Nouri Al-Maliki, Pascoe emphasized the UN readiness and willingness to
continue providing all necessary assistance to help build a "stable and
prosperous democracy for all Iraqis". (end)
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