up by other countries and commercial creditors, Allawi told the conference. Iraq was working on clinching a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund which is needed to secure such debt forgiveness, he said. Allawi also insisted that donors must speed up the delivery of aid pledges made last year. "The flow of grants and loans from the international community which are essential for reconstruction, have not been within the expected levels," he complained. The provision of basic services to the Iraqi people should get top priority, said the final statement. Further donor aid coordination will be studied at a meeting in Amman next month, it added. Iraq's efforts at building democracy took centre stage, with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari promising the country was on track to draft a new constitution by August 15, submit it to a national referendum by October 15 and form an elected government by December 31. Baghdad also pledged to build up its armed forces so that they could assume responsibility for national security as soon as possible.
