Under the Patronage of H.E. Adnan Badran, the Prime Minister of Jordan, the Government of Jordan hosted the fourth meeting of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) which was held in the Dead Sea, Jordan during the period 18-19 July 2005. The meeting was organized by the Coordination Office for the Reconstruction of Iraq/Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

The meeting was Co-Chaired by the Canadian Ambassador Michael Bell, Chair of the Donor Committee and H.E. Dr. Barham Saleh, Iraqi Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation. With the participation of the United Nations, the World Bank and participants from 56 countries and international originations, with a total of more than (400) participants.

During the meeting the Iraqi Minister provided an overview of reconstruction priorities for 2005 that were prepared by the Iraq Strategic Review Board. On the other hand, it was announced that Denmark became a full member of the IRFFI committee, having pledged a total of US$ 10 million to the UN Trust Fund.

On the second day of the meeting, Jordan 's intervention presented by H.E. Suhair Al-Ali, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation urged the donor community to expedite the efforts in reconstructing Iraq and to provide support to implement the Iraqi National Development Strategy.

DECISIONS ADOPTED BY THE DONOR COMMITTEE :

The donor committee

1) Took note of the World Bank Progress Report in accordance with the terms of reference of IRFFI.

2) Took note of the United Nations Progress Report in accordance with the terms of reference of IRFFI.

3) Took note of the Iraqi government recommendations for short term priorities, and the World Bank and the UNDP agreed to further discuss the document.

4) Agreed in principle to initiate a multi-donor stocktaking exercise. A subcommittee of members, including Canada , the European Commission, and the United Kingdom , has been mandated to begin planning for the review, including further discussion of funding mechanism, the Terms of Reference and the timing of the review exercise.

5) The IRFFI terms of reference were amended to reflect the new Iraq donor coordination mechanism, and the committee welcomed the participation of Iraq government in an ex officio capacity.

6) On request from the United Nations, the committee agreed on three main points:

a) That the interest earned on donor deposit to the UN Trust Fund be credited to the Trust Fund and allocated as per established mechanism. The committee agreed that this rule should apply to all UN agencies, except those where governing bodies have approved specific by-law requiring that interest be allocated directly.

b) That the six -month narrative and financial reports required by the UNDP ITF letter of agreement be consolidated into one 6 monthly report.

c) That the independent lessons- learned review exercise of the first year operations, which was not foreseen in the IRFFI terms of reference, be charged to the UNDP ITF account as direct costs.

7) The next IRFFI donor committee meeting will take place in Turkey in February 2006.