Monday, June 25, 2007
Iraqi FM signs agreement writing off Iraq's $8 bn. debt with China
Debt
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi Finance Minister Baqer Jabr al-Zubaidy signed an agreement with his Chinese counterpart on writing off 100 percent of Iraq's 8-billion-dollar debts due for China on the sidelines of a current visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Beijing. "A big ceremony was held on the occasion attended by Talabani and Chinese President Hu Jintao at the People's Hall in China," the Iraqi finance ministry said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Zubaidy had held several meetings with the Chinese side in Baghdad on the means to settle the issue of having China writing off the Iraq's government and corporate debts. The decision makes China the 55th country to write its due debts off Iraq. China, during the last donors conference in the Spanish capital Madrid, had pledged to assist Iraqi refugees, write debts off Iraq and offer 25 million dollar in financial aid to the war-scarred country.
Zubaidy had held several meetings with the Chinese side in Baghdad on the means to settle the issue of having China writing off the Iraq's government and corporate debts. The decision makes China the 55th country to write its due debts off Iraq. China, during the last donors conference in the Spanish capital Madrid, had pledged to assist Iraqi refugees, write debts off Iraq and offer 25 million dollar in financial aid to the war-scarred country.
Labels: Baqer Jabr al-Zubaidy, China, debt relief
Friday, June 22, 2007
Talabani first Iraqi president to visit China since 1958
International
(Xinhua) - Jalal Talabani left for Beijing on June 20 on a weeklong state visit to China, the first by an Iraqi president since 1958, Xinhua reported the same day. "It's my honor to be the first Iraqi president to visit China since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Iraq and China 49 years ago," Talabani said. "I am looking forward to the visit and hope it will open a new phase of the bilateral relations."
Al-Sharqiyah television reported the same day that Talibani hopes his visit will persuade China to write off Iraq's debt, which is estimated at approximately $8 billion. Talabani is being accompanied by several Iraqi officials including Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Sulagh, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani, Oil Minister Husayn al-Shahrastani, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Rafi al-Isawi.
COMMENT: China has considerable oil interests in Iraq dating back to the former regime. They are also less concerned than Western oil companies about the security risks and health and safety issues. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: China, debt relief, Jalal Talabani
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Iraq wins some debt relief at Sharm el-Sheikh
Conference
(Reuters) - Iraq won a trickle of debt relief pledges at a big international conference in Egypt on Thursday and the United States prepared for the highest-level contact with Syria in more than two years. Egypt and three East European countries agreed to waive debts owed by Iraq as part of an International Compact to support Iraqi institutions in exchange for political and economic reforms by the Baghdad government.
The first day of the two-day conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is dedicated to the International Compact, a five-year plan to restore stability and economic prosperity through national reconciliation. But much of the attention is on whether the United States will abandon its longstanding reluctance to hold high-level talks with the Iranian and Syrian governments, as recommended by the Baker-Hamilton commission on Iraq last year.
In his opening speech to the two days of meetings in Egypt, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed for debt relief. "We call on everybody participating in this conference to write off the accumulated debts of Iraq," he said. Iraq sits on the world's third-largest proven crude oil reserves but is struggling to rebuild after four years of war.
Iraqi Finance Minister Bayan Jabor said the three Eastern European countries -- Slovenia, Bulgaria and Poland -- would agree to forgive 80 percent of Iraqi debt but did not say how much that would be. He said the European Union would grant Iraq $200 million, and he expected grants from some Asian countries as well. But James Dobbins, an analysts at the RAND Corporation, said debt relief was of secondary importance because the Iraqis are not paying off the money they owed anyway.
"It is a purely paper transaction. It's symbolic but it doesn't have any immediate effect," he said. Jabor said that Iraq had rejected as unacceptable an offer from Russia to forgive the debt it is owed by Baghdad in return for access to a major Iraqi oilfield. "The Russians are hesitant. They want investment in the Rumaila oilfield in return for eliminating the debt," he said. When Saudi Arabia announced last month that it was writing off 80 percent of the more than $15 billion it was owed by Iraq, Jabor estimated his country's debt at $140 billion.
The first day of the two-day conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is dedicated to the International Compact, a five-year plan to restore stability and economic prosperity through national reconciliation. But much of the attention is on whether the United States will abandon its longstanding reluctance to hold high-level talks with the Iranian and Syrian governments, as recommended by the Baker-Hamilton commission on Iraq last year.
In his opening speech to the two days of meetings in Egypt, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed for debt relief. "We call on everybody participating in this conference to write off the accumulated debts of Iraq," he said. Iraq sits on the world's third-largest proven crude oil reserves but is struggling to rebuild after four years of war.
Iraqi Finance Minister Bayan Jabor said the three Eastern European countries -- Slovenia, Bulgaria and Poland -- would agree to forgive 80 percent of Iraqi debt but did not say how much that would be. He said the European Union would grant Iraq $200 million, and he expected grants from some Asian countries as well. But James Dobbins, an analysts at the RAND Corporation, said debt relief was of secondary importance because the Iraqis are not paying off the money they owed anyway.
"It is a purely paper transaction. It's symbolic but it doesn't have any immediate effect," he said. Jabor said that Iraq had rejected as unacceptable an offer from Russia to forgive the debt it is owed by Baghdad in return for access to a major Iraqi oilfield. "The Russians are hesitant. They want investment in the Rumaila oilfield in return for eliminating the debt," he said. When Saudi Arabia announced last month that it was writing off 80 percent of the more than $15 billion it was owed by Iraq, Jabor estimated his country's debt at $140 billion.
Labels: Bayan Jabor, Bulgaria, debt relief, Egypt, International Compact with Iraq, Poland, Rumaila field, Russia, Sharm al-Sheikh Conference, Slovenia
Friday, April 27, 2007
Kuwait reluctant to forgive Iraq's debt
Economy, Kuwait
(Associated Press) - Lingering bitterness from the 1990 Iraqi invasion and distrust of the government of Nouri Al Maliki are making it impossible to convince Kuwaitis and their lawmakers to forgive most of the $15 billion (Dh55 billion) of Iraq's debt. But the struggling Iraqi premier was hoping to do just that as he ended a two-day visit to this country on Wednesday, with appeals to Kuwaiti leaders and statements to editors of local dailies that he hoped their parliament was going to be "generous" and write off some of the debt.
Al Maliki said he believed Kuwait was "no less generous" than fellow Gulf country Saudi Arabia, which was writing off 80 per cent of a similar sum in debts. But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has no legislature. Kuwait, a constitutional democracy with a ruling royal family, cannot make such a decision without its elected parliament. And while Kuwait's government itself may be willing to oblige Al Maliki and Washington requests, the decision rests with parliament, where strong sentiments prevail.
"Most Kuwaitis and parliament members believe that Iraq must pay," lawmaker Mohammad Al Mutairi said. "A commitment is a commitment; we have suffered enough from that neighbour." The UN panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait said yesterday it has paid out a $280 million instalment from Iraqi oil funds to cover claims for losses and damages. The latest transfer brings the total amount paid in compensation to more than $22.1 billion. Most of the payments - about $229.5 million - went to 35 claimants in Kuwait, the United Nations Compensation Commission said.
Al Maliki said he believed Kuwait was "no less generous" than fellow Gulf country Saudi Arabia, which was writing off 80 per cent of a similar sum in debts. But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has no legislature. Kuwait, a constitutional democracy with a ruling royal family, cannot make such a decision without its elected parliament. And while Kuwait's government itself may be willing to oblige Al Maliki and Washington requests, the decision rests with parliament, where strong sentiments prevail.
"Most Kuwaitis and parliament members believe that Iraq must pay," lawmaker Mohammad Al Mutairi said. "A commitment is a commitment; we have suffered enough from that neighbour." The UN panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait said yesterday it has paid out a $280 million instalment from Iraqi oil funds to cover claims for losses and damages. The latest transfer brings the total amount paid in compensation to more than $22.1 billion. Most of the payments - about $229.5 million - went to 35 claimants in Kuwait, the United Nations Compensation Commission said.
Labels: debt relief, Iraq, Kuwait, Mohammad Al Mutairi, U.N., United Nations Compensation Commission
Thursday, April 26, 2007
U.S. continues to work on Iraq debt relief in run-up to International Compact
International
(KUNA) - The United States will continue to work with other countries on debt relief for Iraq as the International Compact with Iraq prepares to meet next week, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said on Wednesday. The government of Iraq and the United Nations co-chair the International Compact. During a regular State Department briefing, Casey noted that debt relief has been part of the effort to help Iraq move forward since 2004.
"The Paris Club made a decision to ask for 80 percent as a minimum level of debt forgiveness for Iraq among its members, and that is something that a number of countries have already acted upon," Casey said. "But it is certainly an issue that we continue to discuss with many countries in the Paris Club, and certainly something that we do want to see people live up to that Paris Club commitment on."
"The Paris Club made a decision to ask for 80 percent as a minimum level of debt forgiveness for Iraq among its members, and that is something that a number of countries have already acted upon," Casey said. "But it is certainly an issue that we continue to discuss with many countries in the Paris Club, and certainly something that we do want to see people live up to that Paris Club commitment on."
The Saudis have made some announcements in that regard, "and we are very pleased to see that," Casey said. "And we will certainly be continuing to work with other countries as we move closer to next week's compact date, as well as beyond that, to see that they carry out those agreements." The compact is not simply a debt relief agreement, but is designed to provide a variety of different kinds of support "in part in response to the Iraqis' own ability to meet the commitments they have set out for themselves in terms of economic reform," he said.
Labels: debt relief, International Compact with Iraq, Paris Club, U.S.
