Iraq plans anti-terror pact with neighbours

"We have prepared an agreement. The aim is to prevent terrorism and put borders under control," Solagh told a limited group of reporters Sunday, the Anatolia news agency reported.

"If neighbouring states reach agreement and help each other, we can wipe out terrorism," he said.

A top priority for the Baghdad government is to ensure strict border controls with its neighbours in hopes of preventing the infiltration of insurgents into the war-torn country in the grip of near-daily bloodletting.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was in Tehran on an historic visit Sunday to sign a number of deals, including an agreement to share intelligence to prevent terrorist infiltration.

The Istanbul meeting, the second of its kind, will bring together ministers from Turkey, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Jordan.

Turkey, which is north of Iraq, is likely to welcome a cooperation agreement with Baghdad to prevent armed Kurdish rebels crossing into Turkey from their northern Iraqi hideouts to engage in anti-government violence.

Meanwhile, Iraq yesterday called on international donors to take a greater role in the reconstruction of the violence-ravaged country and deliver basic needs to its people.

"We cannot act as if it is business as usual. It is time we made a difference to the people of Iraq," Iraqi Planning Minister Barham Saleh said at the opening of a two-day international donors' meeting on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea.

Saleh, who also admitted that corruption was a "great threat" to reconstruction, stressed the need for coordinated and cohesive action over the next six months to ensure results and bolster Iraqi ownership of projects.