Arrivals for donor conference, opening, photo op
(23 Oct 2003) APTN 1. Various security outside Congress centre 2. Wide of conference centre 3. Interior conference centre 4. Conference sign 5. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan walking into conference centre to meet Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio 6. Mid shot of Annan and Palacio in photo opportunity before heading into conference room 7. Interior of conference room 8. Various of US Secretary of State Colin Powell sitting before conference starts 9. Delegates sitting down 10. Wide of conference stage with Annan and Palacio POOL 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General: "Today they are looking to this conference for a signal, a signal that the international community is indeed ready to help them build a new Iraq. A stable independent and democratic country at peace with itself and with it's neighbours. The assessment prepared by the United Nations and the World Bank depicts a country with reconstruction needs on a monumental scale. All of you are familiar with what many years of repression, corruption, brutality, neglect, sanctions, aggression and misguided policies have done. Our challenge now is two-fold: to respond to Iraq's immediate humanitarian needs and to get the country's reconstruction off to a determined start." 5. Wide of conference with Annan and Palacio on stage 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General: "According to UN World Bank assessment, which is a collaborative effort of a large number of UN agencies and international financial institutions including the IMF (International Monetary Fund) 36.5 billion (US dollars) will be needed for the years 2004 to 2007, including 9.3 billion (US dollars) for 2004. But of course success not only depends 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 in the foreseeable future. Second is Iraqi ownership and leadership. That means Iraqis defining their own priorities deciding on strategies and managing the activities that ensue. Third, any long-term institutional changes in Iraq's legal and economic and physical framework must have legitimacy especially since such changes will effect future generations." 7. Delegates 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General: "I know we all look forward to the earliest possible establishment of the sovereign Iraqi government, but a start on reconstruction cannot be deferred until that day. It demands our urgent attention now. I appeal to donors to give and give generously and for those contributions to be divided in assistant commitments. One option not to take resources earmarked for major emergencies elsewhere and share them with Iraq." 9. Delegates 10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ana Palacio, Spanish Foreign Minister: "The Iraqi people need to know that they are not and they will not be alone facing difficulties. We want the best for them and we want them to recuperate their position as a free nation. They have to recover from the years of corruption and become an important force on the international stage and in the region." 11. Wide of stage with Annan and Palacio speaking APTN 11. Various of Powell, US Civil administrator Paul Bremer and members from Iraqi Governing Council in photo opportunity POOL 10. Conference stage 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Mowaffak Al Rubaie, Member of Iraqi Governing Council: QUALITY AS INCOMING "Ladies and gentlemen I don't want to depict a gloomy picture for Iraq. What we need, we need is a kickstart, we need to be given a helping hand and we appeal to you to offer that helping hand." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
