LFIQ meets Iraqi Communist Party Organisation to establish dialogue

A delegation of the Iraqi Communist Party Organisation in Britain, led by its secretary Dr Shawkat Al-Asidi and Ali Shawkat, met Dave Anderson MP and Gary Kent of LFIQ at the Commons to establish a formal dialogue between the two organisations.

The ICP representatives stressed that their party supported current efforts to achieve national unity, combat sectarianism, build a democratic political process, end foreign military presence and regain full national sovereignty. They pointed out that the party and its leaders have played a role that is respected by other Iraqi forces.

Dave and Gary for LFIQ stressed the need for the British labour movement to listen most carefully to the views of the ICP and other Iraqi parties and forces seeking to rebuild Iraq and retrieve its sovereignty, after decades of isolation, war and terror.

All agreed on the need for upholding and defending human and democratic rights, and for full trade union rights in Iraq.

It was agreed to organise an open meeting in the Commons in the near future so that parliamentarians and trade unionists can engage with the views of the ICP.

UK government assistance on education and employment

Iraq: Education

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the education system in Iraq.

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since 2003, the Department for International Development (DFID) has not provided any direct financial assistance to develop the education sector in Iraq. We have, however, contributed £70 million to the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI), which encompasses two trust funds administered by the United Nations and World Bank. 25 donors have committed over $1.8 billion to IRFFI since 2003. This money has been used to provide assistance in a range of sectors and development projects across Iraq. In the education sector, the UN has now allocated from IRFFI $190 million and the World Bank $106 million on 29 projects which include the rehabilitation of schools, the provision of essential text books, and the training of Iraqi teachers.

Iraq: Employment

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent support the Government has given to the development of employment opportunities in Iraq.

Mr. Douglas Alexander: We believe that the best way to develop employment opportunities in Iraq is to support the Iraqis to stimulate economic growth through the private sector. To achieve this, the UK is supporting two institutions—the Basra Development Commission (BDC) and Basra Investment Commission (BIC). The Department for International Development (DFID) is also looking at ways to improve the availability of credit to small and medium sized enterprises.

Co-chaired by Michael Wareing, the CEO of KPMG International, the BDC is bringing international and regional private sector expertise to Southern Iraq, and working on a range of economic projects. Most recently, the BDC launched a youth employment scheme (YES) which aims to provide an initial 500 vocational training placements for unemployed youths to work with local businesses, after which the businesses will offer them permanent employment. This scheme is modelled on best practice adopted by Business in the Community in the UK.

The BDC is also working with the Iraqi National Investment Commission (NIC) to facilitate visits to Iraq for the investors interested in commercial opportunities—11 such visits have now taken place. These investors are looking at taking forward projects with a potential value in excess of $4 billion and employing 1,200 to 1,500 people in the first year alone.

13 Oct 2008