The Czech Republic and Iraq have signed an agreement on a Czech donation
of military firearms as well as uniforms to be used by Iraqis in the
protection of significant cultural sites. The agreement, signed by the
Czech defence minister and the Iraqi ambassador to Prague, will see some
1,500 submachine guns, 50 machine guns, and 1,500 uniforms no longer in
use by the Czech Army, to be donated for Iraqi personnel to guard sites
that
have been subject to heavy looting and damages since the outbreak of war
in Iraq. The donated material is expected to reach Iraq in several weeks
in a transport delivery organised by NATO. The Iraqi government has
classified the donation as "humanitarian" rather than military.
In total the Czech government has put forward some 78 million US dollars
in recent years towards the reconstruction of Iraq, funds used in
humanitarian aid, the running of a Czech field hospital in Basra, and the
training of Iraqi police.