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The Report of the Iraq Inquiry
797.  Baroness Amos advised that this contribution reflected Iraq’s needs and DFID’s
commitments, including its commitment to increase the proportion of bilateral spend
allocated to low-income countries to 90 percent by 2005/06 and to establish a
£1bn assistance programme for Africa by 2005/06.
798.  Baroness Amos also advised that a “significant” amount of the pledge should be
allocated to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which would focus on the social sectors and
encourage similar contributions from other donors.
799.  A Treasury official advised Mr Brown later that day that DFID could probably
find £390m from its existing resources, and the Global Conflict Prevention Pool
(GCPP) a further £30m, giving a UK pledge of £420m for 2004/05 and 2005/06.438 She
recommended that the Treasury push DFID hard to find more from its existing resources.
800.  No.10 responded to Baroness Amos’s letter to Mr Boateng on 4 October.439
Mr Rycroft said that Mr Blair:
“… would like the UK to play a leading role within the international community
in this area. So he thinks that the UK pledge should be significantly larger than
Departments appear to be contemplating, in the order of £500m. This will need
to include genuinely new money, not the result of creative accounting.”
801.  The JNA was published on 9 October.440
802.  The FCO reported the following day that the Core Group had agreed three
objectives for the Conference:
to endorse the priorities for reconstruction in Iraq;
to provide a forum for donors to make pledges of assistance; and
to agree a multilateral framework for assistance, including a Multi-Donor Trust
Fund administered by the UN and World Bank, separated from but co-ordinated
with the DFI.441
803.  The 9 October meeting of the Defence and Overseas Policy (DOP) Sub-Committee
of the Cabinet agreed that the UK should pledge US$900m at the Conference.442
438  Minute Treasury [junior official] to Chancellor, 3 October 2003, ‘Iraq: UK Contribution at Madrid Donors
Conference’.
439  Letter Rycroft to Malik, 4 October 2003, ‘Iraq: Madrid Donors Conference’.
440  UN/World Bank, Press Release, 9 October 2003, Iraq: United Nations, World Bank Publish Needs
Assessment.
441  Telegram 55 FCO London to Brussels, 3 October 2003, ‘Iraq: Madrid Donors Conference’.
442  Minutes, 9 October 2003, DOP meeting.
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