US Secretary of State Colin Powell said here Friday that the US government is ready to provide a total of US$20.3 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq.

In a five-minute speech delivered at the international donors' conference for the reconstruction of Iraq, Powell said that the conference is to show strong support and deep commitment to the Iraqi people in the building of a new country.

With international help, the Iraqi people are building their police forces and their own army and it is now time for us to "invest in their hopes and dreams", Powell said.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1511 has brought the international community together again in rebuilding Iraq and the international efforts here would help Iraq build a free, sovereign country with a market economy and reintegration to the international community, he said.

Strong support from this conference would speed up reconstruction and hasten the day when the Iraqis take full responsibility for their nation, he added.

He urged countries to make generous contributions for the reconstruction of Iraq. However, he said that the US$55 billion needed for Iraq reconstruction in the 2004-2007 period is not likely to be raised at the one-day conference. But it is a good starting point, he asserted.

With the improvement in Iraq's infrastructure, the country would generate revenues for itself. But the international help is indispensable, he noted.

He said the investment of private sector is also very important for the success of reconstruction work, adding that creation of real jobs, business expansion would bring concrete benefits to the war-torn country.

At the donors' conference, the host Spain announced a decision to offer 300 million dollars and the European Union would offer US$233 million. Japan said that it would offer US$1.5 billion in donation and US$3.5 billion in loans.

With the major donors having announced their contributions, it is clear that there would not be any big surprises in the total amount estimated by previous media reports which predicted a final amount of US$20 billion to 28 billion, less than half of the needed amount announced by the World Bank earlier this month.

Key actors in the anti-war camp like France, Germany and Russia had said that they would not provide any additional contributions at this conference.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2003)