$30 billion pledged in Kuwait at summit to rebuild Iraq
KUWAIT CITY — International donors pledged $30 billion to help rebuild Iraq after the war against the Islamic State group, Kuwait announced Wednesday, overcoming Western doubts and donor fatigue over Mideast crises to help the battle-ravaged nation.
While falling short of an estimated $88.2 billion needed to rebuild Iraq, it easily surpassed the $20 billion Iraqi officials initially said they needed to begin their difficult work. While much of the larger donations came in the form of loans, Iraq remains an oil-rich nation and such debts can be forgiven by the countries and institutions offering them.
The pledges, if followed through with funding, could give Iraq a chance to dig itself out of the rubble left by the Islamic State group and the chaos that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Still, much remains uncertain for Iraq and the greater Middle East. The Islamic State group, while dislodged from the third of Iraq it once held, remains a threat. Meanwhile, regional tensions could even be seen at a conference heralded by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as an “enormous success.”