The French government on Friday reiterated its support for the UN Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, and said it was working for improvements in its functioning during the next phase, which is due to come into effect on December 5, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
“We think that the continuation of this program is important,” said French foreign ministry spokesman, Francois Rivasseau.
“But France will continue to work within the UN sanctions committee for an improvement in this program,” he added.
France wants an improvement in the procedures to reduce the number, the amount and set-aside duration for a certain number of contracts, said the agency.
An amendment to the program would allow Iraq to import limited amounts of spare parts for its oil industry to allow it to continue exporting large quantities of oil.
The French official said that certain countries in the Sanctions Committee were slow to approve contracts for Iraq.
“We have said many times that the sanctions committee can, and should function better, Rivasseau told the agency.
According to the French official, there are 2.3 billion dollars in contracts awaiting approval for Iraq, adding that the United States is one of the countries that takes the most restrictive approach to approving contracts for Iraq – Albawaba.com
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