Iraq has asked its Arab neighbours to forgive its pre-invasion debts, urging them to follow the United Arab Emirates and Algeria which have already written off what they were owed, according to Reuters. "We've asked Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Libya, Jordan, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco to help Iraq in closing up its debt situation," Iraqi […]
Tag Archives | Debt
Tags: Arab League, Arab League Summit, Debt, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan
Investors Consider Iraqi Debt
According to a report in the Financial Times, investors are turning their attention to Iraq’s debt. In 2004, after the US invasion of Iraq, the 'Paris Club' of 19 western creditors agreed to forgive roughly 80% of the $37.2bn owed to them. This deal was used as a template for resolutions with other creditors and […]
Iraq to Repay $408 million Egyptian Debt
Iraq has agreed to pay $408 million in cash to Egypt to settle old debts owed by Baghdad from more than two decades ago, a government spokesman said. Reuters reports that the debts date back to a period when United Nations sanctions following the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait blocked the payment of salaries that […]
IMF Approves $471 Million Payment to Iraq
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the second review of Iraq’s economic performance under a program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) on Friday. Completion of the second review makes an additional SDR 297.1 million (about US$471.1 million) available for disbursement, bringing the total resources currently purchased by Iraq under the […]
How Risky Is Iraq?
Let's start with a little test: Can you rank the following economies in order of the expected risk of their defaulting on their sovereign debt – Ireland, Argentina, Dubai, Greece, Iraq? The correct order, based on the cost using credit default swaps (CDS) to insure their debt against default, is: Greece (riskiest), Ireland, Argentina, Dubai, […]
Egypt Opens Consulate in Erbil, Discusses $2bn Debt
Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, officially opened his country’s consulate in Erbil on Sunday; this is the first Arab consulate to be opened in the Kurdish region, according to a report from Bloomberg. The opening of the consulate is expected to boost bilateral ties between Egypt and Iraq and Kurdistan Region. The minister stressed […]
Call to Reschedule Iraq's Debt
Following Iraq's exit last week from the UN's Chapter VII restrictions, an Iraqi economist has called for a rescheduling of the country's debt repayments. “Iraq’s financial funds are under UN trusteeship, according to UN’s Article 7,” Dr. Nabil Jaafar of Basra Univesity told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that “the official and private debtors […]
Iraq Forgives Madagascar's Debt
(Sources: Aswat Al Iraq, Reuters) Aswat al Iraq reports that the Iraqi Council of Ministers has decided to approve an agreement that settles Madagascar’s debt to Iraq. Iraq lent the money to Madagascar during the era of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. “Eighty percent of the debt (i.e. $234,507,234) has been cancelled,” the Iraqi government said […]
Tags: Debt
Finance Minister Urges Italians to Tackle Debt Issue
Finance Minister Baqer al-Zubaidi urged the Iraqi ambassador on Monday to tackle the debts issue with Italy and to encourage companies there to invest in Iraq, according to a statement of the finance ministry. “Al-Zubaidi urged the new Iraqi Ambassador, Saad Qandi, to discuss the $850 million debts owed by Iraq,” said the statement received […]
The Largest Private Equity MENA Deal of the Year to Close in Iraq
MerchantBridge, a direct investment and private equity company focused on Middle East investments, has now invested and managed in excess of US$1.5 billion in debt and equity in Iraq.
Iraq Still Owes Kuwait 24 Bn
Iraq still owes about 24 billion dollars in war reparations for the 1990 occupation of oil-rich Kuwait, a Kuwaiti lawmaker was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Adnan Abdulsamad, head of parliament's budgets committee, said the emirate had so far received 17.5 billion dollars out of the 41.8 billion dollars approved by a United Nations special […]