Belgium provides $1.6m for stability in Iraq

The Belgian government has provided an additional €1.4m ($1.6m) towards a programme to regain stability in liberated areas across Iraq, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Friday.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) confirmed in a statement reported by Al-Quds Al-Arabi: “This contribution is the seventh provided by the Belgian Kingdom for the programme to regain stability in the liberated areas.”

It added: “This brings the total of the contributions to €13.52m.”

According to the statement: “This generous contribution will enable the UNAMI to rehabilitate the vital infrastructure, including electricity, water and education.”

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According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the UNAMI statement added: “The impact of our collective efforts aimed to achieve stability along with the continuous contributions of the international partners like Belgium is clear all around Iraq.”

Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme in Iraq Zena Ali-Ahmad explained: “Schools are reopened, clean drinking water started to reach people. Roads started to connect people with each other and homes are being renovated.”

Ali-Ahmad added: “Despite the achieved progress, the major needs to achieve stability are still there as there are one million internally displaced persons, in addition to residents who are facing difficult obstacles to return home.”