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Sweden says Iraq-U.N. conference set for May 29
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A conference on Iraq's development is set for May 29, host country Sweden said on Thursday, adding it expected United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki to attend.
The conference, which was announced on April 3 by Sweden on the sidelines of a NATO summit, is a follow-up meeting to the so-called International Compact with Iraq. The U.N. Secretary-General and Maliki will issue invitations.
"The only thing we can say for certain is that those who will come are the ones who are inviting, that is the U.N. Secretary-General and Iraq's Premier Maliki," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said in a briefing for journalists.
Bildt said it was also possible U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would take part.
"The invitations haven't been sent yet... But surely it can't be completely ruled out that the (U.S.) Secretary of State will come," he said.
More than 60 countries participated in the launch of the International Compact, which produced commitments of $30 billion, mostly in the form of debt relief.
Bildt said he expected more follow-up meetings on the role of the United Nations in the war-torn country.
"The idea is surely that meetings will be held with regular intervals to be able to incorporate the development in Iraq in the wider international context," Bildt said.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
