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CNN Live At Daybreak
Donors Conference for Iraq Opens in Madrid
Aired October 23, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Show me the money. The Donors Conference is going on in Spain right now. It doesnt sound very exciting until you realize what it may mean to you, the taxpayer.
Live to Madrid and CNN's Al Goodman.
And, Al, this is a chance for the United States to get some financial help to rebuild Iraq, but how much is the U.S. expecting to get?
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Secretary Colin Powell said just a few days ago the U.S. will take whatever it can get at this conference.
The conference is off and running, inaugurated by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan just a short while ago. He said this is a day of hope for Iraq. And he said this conference -- which has about 60 donor nations or potential donor nations and about 30 international organizations -- is sending a signal that the world is ready to help rebuild Iraq. And he made a very direct call for that kind of cash that the international community, and especially Washington, is listening for.
Here's what he had to say, Carol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: I appeal to donors to give and give generously, and for those contributions to be provided in addition to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) commitments. One opts not to take risks (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for major emergencies elsewhere and shift them to Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: Now, the World Bank and the United Nations have estimated it will take about 36 billion -- that's what Iraq needs between now and the year 2007. That's the key figure. There are a lot of other figures. The U.S. has a different figure. The numbers they're looking at, 36 billion, they don't think they're going to get all of that money here, Carol.
But Kofi Annan says he's got his own measure of what would be success for this conference. Let's see how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNAN: Success depends not only on the availability of resources, but also on a number of factors. First and foremost is security. This will be the primary constraint, both now and into the foreseeable future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: So, Carol, they've got to get that security situation in Iraq under control, is what Secretary General Annan is referring to, and maybe the United States will start to see some of that help from the other countries that Washington needs and that Iraq needs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, and speaking of the help that we may get right now, I know Germany, France, Russia are all represented there. How much money are they willing to pony up?
GOODMAN: Well, you know, two of the major financial countries that are here -- Germany and France -- are actually not sending their top-level diplomats at the rank of Colin Powell, the secretary of state. They're not sending their foreign ministers. They're sending lower-ranking diplomats.
They still don't seem to be fully on board, it would appear, with this reconstruction, but some other counties have put up significant pledges. Japan: $1.5 billion. The European Union -- you just talked with the commissioner, Chris Patton (ph) -- they promised 230 million. Canada, a couple of hundred million. Spain, the host country, 300 million.
Not a lot, but it's something. And the Iraqis say what they need right now is not loans, not debt relief; they need cash -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, you know, we did just talk to Chris Patton (ph). He said that they would be crazy to give much money because of the security situation in Iraq. But what about that U.N. resolution, where we're all supposed to be friends again and help rebuild Iraq together?
GOODMAN: Well, you see how much time -- you know, every day in general international politics, that was just last week in New York, a unanimous vote, 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, and Germany and France were in that vote. They voted yes. And here, you have this conference. They're sending a fairly low-level delegation, and they're not promising to put any money.
So, what Chris Patton (ph) is saying is that the European Union, which says it wants to help with the rebuilding of Iraq, says it's been putting a lot of money in there. He still wants to take a slow incremental approach. They want to come back and look at this issue again in six months or so and see how it's going before they put up a lot more for the years beyond 2004 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Al Goodman, thanks for helping us to understand what's going on there in Spain this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 23, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Show me the money. The Donors Conference is going on in Spain right now. It doesnt sound very exciting until you realize what it may mean to you, the taxpayer.
Live to Madrid and CNN's Al Goodman.
And, Al, this is a chance for the United States to get some financial help to rebuild Iraq, but how much is the U.S. expecting to get?
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Secretary Colin Powell said just a few days ago the U.S. will take whatever it can get at this conference.
The conference is off and running, inaugurated by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan just a short while ago. He said this is a day of hope for Iraq. And he said this conference -- which has about 60 donor nations or potential donor nations and about 30 international organizations -- is sending a signal that the world is ready to help rebuild Iraq. And he made a very direct call for that kind of cash that the international community, and especially Washington, is listening for.
Here's what he had to say, Carol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: I appeal to donors to give and give generously, and for those contributions to be provided in addition to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) commitments. One opts not to take risks (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for major emergencies elsewhere and shift them to Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: Now, the World Bank and the United Nations have estimated it will take about 36 billion -- that's what Iraq needs between now and the year 2007. That's the key figure. There are a lot of other figures. The U.S. has a different figure. The numbers they're looking at, 36 billion, they don't think they're going to get all of that money here, Carol.
But Kofi Annan says he's got his own measure of what would be success for this conference. Let's see how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNAN: Success depends not only on the availability of resources, but also on a number of factors. First and foremost is security. This will be the primary constraint, both now and into the foreseeable future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: So, Carol, they've got to get that security situation in Iraq under control, is what Secretary General Annan is referring to, and maybe the United States will start to see some of that help from the other countries that Washington needs and that Iraq needs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, and speaking of the help that we may get right now, I know Germany, France, Russia are all represented there. How much money are they willing to pony up?
GOODMAN: Well, you know, two of the major financial countries that are here -- Germany and France -- are actually not sending their top-level diplomats at the rank of Colin Powell, the secretary of state. They're not sending their foreign ministers. They're sending lower-ranking diplomats.
They still don't seem to be fully on board, it would appear, with this reconstruction, but some other counties have put up significant pledges. Japan: $1.5 billion. The European Union -- you just talked with the commissioner, Chris Patton (ph) -- they promised 230 million. Canada, a couple of hundred million. Spain, the host country, 300 million.
Not a lot, but it's something. And the Iraqis say what they need right now is not loans, not debt relief; they need cash -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, you know, we did just talk to Chris Patton (ph). He said that they would be crazy to give much money because of the security situation in Iraq. But what about that U.N. resolution, where we're all supposed to be friends again and help rebuild Iraq together?
GOODMAN: Well, you see how much time -- you know, every day in general international politics, that was just last week in New York, a unanimous vote, 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, and Germany and France were in that vote. They voted yes. And here, you have this conference. They're sending a fairly low-level delegation, and they're not promising to put any money.
So, what Chris Patton (ph) is saying is that the European Union, which says it wants to help with the rebuilding of Iraq, says it's been putting a lot of money in there. He still wants to take a slow incremental approach. They want to come back and look at this issue again in six months or so and see how it's going before they put up a lot more for the years beyond 2004 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Al Goodman, thanks for helping us to understand what's going on there in Spain this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
