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Madrid: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on October 24 unveiled a loan package for Iraq worth upto a total of $ 9.25 billion over five years to aid reconstruction of the country's war-shattered economy.

As more than 70 donor nations outlined their own pledges, World Bank president James Wolfensohn said the international community had to rebuild a "depressed" society that was "really on its back" and said the organisation would pledge loans of up to $ 5 billion over the next five years.

The IMF weighed in with a package worth upto a maximum $ 4.25 billion over a three-year period.

Wolfensohn called on countries to forget past differences over Iraq, which the World Bank assesses as needing $ 36 billion of assistance in the next four years, to which the US-installed Iraqi provisional government adds a further $ 20 billion.

"It is a country of great potential that needs rebuilding," Wolfensohn said, adding security problems could not be allowed to stand in the way of a reconstruction programme.

Agencies