The State Department announced it will be allocating an additional $10.8 million this year to demine certain areas of Iraq.
The announcement was made in Oslo today, where it was also revealed that the United States has committed to spend $8 million next year to demine liberated regions of Syria.
The State Department says this decision, which is part of a joint effort between the U.S. and Norway to demine the Middle East, “marks the first step toward establishing a broader regional partnership to safely clear landmines and unexploded ordnance in post-conflict countries.”
In the same announcement, Norway pledged to contribute $9.8 million this year to help demine portions of Syria and Iraq, and $15 million next year to continue these efforts.
Together, the two countries have also led the Global Demining Initiative for Colombia, launched earlier this year. However, the United States remains as the world’s largest single financial contributor to global demining efforts, having spent over $2.5 billion since 1993.
