STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday other countries should support the rebuilding of Iraq now the security outlook has improved.
On the eve of an international conference on Iraq's development, Rice said Iraq was in a "fundamentally different" situation from a year ago, with improved security, a functioning parliament and deeper engagement with its neighbours.
But it still needed the world's help, she said.
"This work is not done and so the international community needs to stand by Iraq as it continues to move ahead," Rice told reporters on her plane en route to Stockholm.
"But this is a functioning state. This is a fundamentally different situation than a year ago. This is a state that is here to stay."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will chair the conference of nearly 100 delegations. The meeting aims to assess progress in implementing a plan adopted at a meeting in Egypt last year to help Iraq rebuild after five years of war.
The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, has had more than 100,000 troops in the country since then.
Rice sees Iraq improvement but still needs world's help
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday other countries should support the rebuilding of Iraq now the security outlook has improved.
On the eve of an international conference on Iraq's development, Rice said Iraq was in a "fundamentally different" situation from a year ago, with improved security, a functioning parliament and deeper engagement with its neighbours.
But it still needed the world's help, she said.
"This work is not done and so the international community needs to stand by Iraq as it continues to move ahead," Rice told reporters on her plane en route to Stockholm.
"But this is a functioning state. This is a fundamentally different situation than a year ago. This is a state that is here to stay."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will chair the conference of nearly 100 delegations. The meeting aims to assess progress in implementing a plan adopted at a meeting in Egypt last year to help Iraq rebuild after five years of war.
The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, has had more than 100,000 troops in the country since then.
