Iraq's deputy prime minister on Wednesday called on the international community to increase the flow of aid and speed up the implementation of projects to help rebuild the war-torn country.
"The support of the international donor community will be the catalyst for turning the vicious cycle of poverty and terrorism into a virtuous circle of economic growth, tolerance and peace," Barham Salih said in a keynote speech in Tokyo to the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq. "Iraq lies on the fault lines of the global war on terror."
Representatives from 53 countries and four international organizations were in Tokyo to attend the two-day donor meeting.