US President Donald Trump with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson(L). (Michael Reynolds-Pool via Getty Images)United States (US) officials have confirmed that the US won’t be pledging any funds towards Iraqi reconstruction in line with US President Donald Trump’s election promise that “the era of nation-building will be ended”, Reuters has reported.
A conference to generate funds for Iraq’s reconstruction is to be held in Kuwait which will be attended by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other regional heavyweights.
The US is instead said to be pushing Saudi Arabia to pour money towards the reconstruction drive for reestablishing harmonious relations with Shia dominated Iraq government. Its also said to be encouraging private sector investments for the rebuilding effort.
Speaking of government funding, the US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, “I‘m not aware of any announcements that we will be making.”
“About 2,300 members of the private sector will also be joining ... and talk about ways that they can help facilitate the large-scale reconstruction taking place in Iraq.” she added.
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had earlier said that the country needs $100 billion in funds to rebuild the cities left crumbling after the war with Islamic State.
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