During the preparatory meeting of committee constituted according to the order no.(15s) for 2011 which included the formation of the Higher National Committee for Mine Action, The Minister of Environment, authorized with the Administrative, Financial and Technical powers, Dr.Jasim Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fallahi, said that the percentage of clearing the Iraqi areas from mines and explosive remnants of war exceeded 53% of the total contaminated areas throughout the affected Iraqi governorates.

This meeting held today at the Minister’s office and attended by The Deputy Minister of Finance,Mrs. Taif Sami, Assistant Deputy of the Agency of Ministry of Interior for Federal Security Affairs, Lieutenant-General Samkoun Nadhim Ameen, Deputy Advisor of National Security, as well as the Director General of DMA, Director General of Civil Defense Directorate/Ministry of Interior, Major General Kadhim Bohan, Director General of Technical Department/IKMAA, Representatives from Ministries of Oil and Foreign Affairs and heads from different departments and Regional Mine Action Centers of DMA, for the purpose of setting active agenda and recommendations to be submitted later to the Higher National Committee for Mine Action which is directly chaired by the Prime Minister to approve on the issues and procedures of these recommendations.

Dr. Al-Fallahi also added that the percentage of contamination with mines and other explosive remnants of war is currently about (6022) square kilometers in all iraqi governorates, at the time that the national mine action program has succeeded in clearing more than 53% of these contaminated areas above, pointing out that about (2761) square kilometers remain contaminated so far, explaining that 57% of the total contamination is in the southern regions, 25% in the liberated governorates and 18% in the governorates of Middle Euphrates, whereas the number of beneficiaries of EORE campaigns has amounted about (33470,13).

From his part, the Director General of DMA, Eng. Dhafir Mahmood Khallaf, explained that the meeting concluded finally with number of recommendations that will be submitted later to the Prime Minister and the Chairman of Higher National Committee for Mine Action, and the summary of these recommendations is to reinforce the governmental financial aspects in order to ensure the continuity of the Iraqi national mine action program inperforming its several and various tasks in the best way