Baghdad: Iraq's debts exceed 20 billion US Dollars

Shafaq News / The Iraqi government on Sunday revealed that Iraq's external debt amounts to over $20 billion that will be paid off in the next seven or eight years.

The financial adviser to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, said in an interview with Shafaq News Agency that "Iraq's debts in the Paris Club, which date back to the 1990s, were presented with different figures ranging from $128 billion to $148 billion, which are preliminary exaggerated figures."

He added, "the Paris Club deducted these sovereign and commercial debts by 80% or more under an agreement with Iraq in November 2004, and some countries even canceled 100% of our debts, including the United States, Algeria, Cyprus, Malta, and Slovenia."

"The remaining 20% has been rescheduled for 20 years, and it is expected to be paid in 2028, with about $5 billion remaining, including commercial debts issued in the form of bonds under Iraq's name."

He pointed out that Iraq also borrowed again during the period of the war on ISIS from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with the issuance of new bonds worth $2 billion, one of which is known as the (Tigris) and the other (Euphrates). "In my estimation, the total debts that will be paid in the next seven or eight years are about $20 billion, which also represents the total of Iraq's external debts."

Iraq seeks to cancel its debts incurred during the rule of the former regime of Saddam Hussein, which exceeded $140 billion.

Baghdad was able to cancel $100 billion of the Paris Club's debts, which amounted to $140 billion, after Iraq signed an agreement individually with these countries to reduce its debts by 80%, while some Paris Club countries signed an agreement with Iraq to cancel 100% of their debts.

The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.