BAGHDAD (AFP) -
United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad on Saturday
for talks with senior officials on ways of assisting war-ravaged Iraq,
the world body said.
Ban, who had last visited the Iraqi capital
in March 2015, was travelling with World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim and
Islamic Development Bank head Ahmad al-Madani.
They went straight into talks with Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Ban
flew from Lebanon, where he called for an end to war in the region and
visited some of the 1.2 million refugees the country hosts.
A drop
in oil prices has had a devastating effect on the economy of Iraq,
already strained by the cost of the fight against the Islamic State
group.
As areas are gradually retaken from the jihadists in
intense battles, Baghdad is left with little to spare on the
reconstruction of ravaged cities.
The government has asked for support from its foreign partners.
During a visit to Baghdad on March 16, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said lenders would be urged to help.
"We
will work with our partners from the G7 in order to provide direct
support to the Iraqi government, and also to put pressure on the
international financial institutions to give bigger and quicker loan
support to Iraq," he said.
© 2016 AFP
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