Portuguese Foreign Minister Teresa Patricio Gouveia said in Lisbon Wednesday her country would not provide 20 million euros (about US$23 million) for Iraqi reconstruction.

A Portuguese diplomat in Brussels had told the media that the Portuguese government would talk over the donation issue with the European Commission at the donors' conference in Madrid.

It was reported Portugal was planning to provide 20 million euros to Iraq.

Prime Minister Jose Durao Barroso also said at the summit of the European Union last week that his government could offer aid to Iraq.

But Gouveia, the first female foreign minister in Portugal, who took office on Oct. 9, denied any kind of donation. She said the report was baseless, and did not fit in with Portugal's economic situation either.

The financial assistance to Iraq was already set in the budget, which would cover the expenditures of Portuguese personnel and security in Baghdad, Gouveia said.

The two-day conference on the reconstruction of Iraq will open in Madrid on Thursday, with the participation of about 1,200 representatives from 58 countries, 25 multilateral organizations and 225 companies.

So far, a total donation of US$27 billion has been promised, about half the US$55 billion estimated to be needed to rebuild Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2003)