Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the outcome of the recent Kuwait Conference; and what the extent was of the funding agreed at that conference.

Pledges totalling over $30billion were made at the Kuwait conference, for which the Government of Iraq, conference organisers and donors should be congratulated. I reiterated that UK Export Finance will offer up to £750 million of export finance in any given year for infrastructure projects in Iraq under its ten year MoU.

A large number of private sector companies from numerous nations also attended, highlighting the interest from potential foreign investors. We will now need to ensure that the Government of Iraq converts this strong international support into sustainable reconstruction, reconciliation and private sector development.