UN official embarks on trip to boost support for International Compact with Iraq

A senior United Nations official has embarked on a week of travel to Europe and the Middle East in a bid to build support for the International Compact with Iraq, a five-year plan for peace as well as political, economic and social development in the war-torn country.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Advisor, Ibrahim Gambari, is in the United Kingdom today, and will travel from there to Kuwait, Bulgaria and Belgium before returning to New York next week, according to a UN spokesperson. He is accompanied by the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.

The Compact will be launched formally early next month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, culminating a preparatory process that began last July and was initiated by the Iraqi Government to establish a new partnership with the international community.

Mr. Ban announced earlier this month that he and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would attend the launch on 3 May.

The preparatory process was co-chaired by Iraq and the UN, through Mr. Gambari, and has also had the support of the World Bank.