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India to gift $20 m fortified biscuits for Iraqi kids
by Chandrika

     New Delhi: Renewing its commitment towards rebuilding war-ravaged Iraq, India will gift fortified biscuit to Iraq for the UN World Food Programme's (UNWFP) school feeding programme in that country. The consignment will be handed over by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh to Muayad Hussain, the Charge d' Affaires in the Iraqi Embassy in Delhi on November 8 in the presence of WFP Representative in New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman said. According to the spokesman, the gift is worth 20 million dollars (approximately Rs 90 crore). The WFP has made elaborate arrangements for the manufacture, transport and distribution of the biscuits to the Iraqi school children. India has already contributed around 15,000 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat estimated to be worth over three million dollars (Rs 15 crore) for manufacturing the fortified biscuits. India had recently hailed the ratification of a new Iraqi constitution by the people of Iraq and expressed its support for the strengthening of democratic institutions in that country. Iraq has called for greater Indian investment in the reconstruction of Iraq.