International monitoring board for Iraqi development fund holds first meeting

An international board created to advance the goals set forth by the United Nations Security Council of ensuring transparency in the work of the Development Fund for Iraq, met in New York today for its first meeting, which was opened by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) was established when its four member institutions - the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the World Bank - announced on October 24 that they had approved the terms of reference of the Board, also known by its acronym IAMB.

The purpose of the Board is to promote the objectives laid out by the Council in its resolution 1483 adopted in May 2003. That resolution, in part, underlined that the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) "shall be used in a transparent manner to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, for the economic reconstruction and repair of Iraq's infrastructure, for the continued disarmament of Iraq, and for the costs of Iraqi civilian administration," as well as for other purposes benefiting the Iraqi people.

The Council also decided that all export sales of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas from Iraq following the date of the adoption of resolution 1483 should be

made consistent with prevailing international market best practices, to be audited by independent public accountants reporting to IAMD.