Washington : The World Bank and the government of Iraq signed two projects worth $510 million on Wednesday, to help the Iraqi people improve their living conditions, as well as to enhance water supplies and create more jobs.

The two projects, along with the ongoing $750 million Emergency Operation for Development Project and other planned commitments, will increase the World Bank’s total commitment to Iraq to $4.7 billion, compared to $600 million four years ago, the World Bank said in a statement.

It indicated that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim attended the signing ceremony for the two projects, which took place on the sidelines of the Iraq Reconstruction Conference held in Kuwait on February 12-14.

The Group affirmed that its increased commitment will help support the immediate restoration of education and health services, rebuilding important roads and bridges as well as rehabilitation of electricity and water systems. It noted that the ongoing emergency reconstruction projects have already created thousands of jobs for Iraqis, expecting that the new projects will create millions more.

The Bank also stressed that its commitment to scaling up support for Iraq reconstruction and development subject to availability of resources. In addition to the financial support, the Group has actively engaged with the Iraqi government through providing technical assistance for Iraq’s recovery and laying the foundation for private sector investments in the country, said the statement.

—AB/UNA-OIC