Delegates from some 100 countries and international organizations appealed for debt relief for Iraq, echoing a call from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

"To further support Iraq's economic development, creditors external to the Paris Club were encouraged to consider resolving outstanding debts to Iraq on Paris Club or similar terms," says the declaration.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks at a news conference after the first annual review of the International Compact with Iraq in Stockholm May 29, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) 

The Paris Club, which groups the world's richest countries in the West, has promised to forgive 80 percent of Iraq's debts owed to them, which total some 39 billion US dollars.

Maliki asked other countries on Thursday to follow suit, arguing that the debts, owed by Iraq during Saddam Hussein's rule, have become obstacles to Iraq's economic development.

Bigger creditors outside the Paris Club, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, however, did not make specific promises on Thursday. Both countries sent low-level officials to the Stockholm conference.