UAE waives $5.8 billion of Iraq debt

[Al Bhatti]

January 17, 2012

UAE waives $5.8 billion of Iraq debt

Proposes way forward by holding successful Arab summit in Baghdad

The UAE has decided to waive Iraq's debt of $5.8 billion (Dh21.29 billion) and backs holding the next Arab summit in Baghdad, Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced.

"An agreement will be signed soon to lay out the legal framework for waiving old Iraqi debt of $5.8 billion," Shaikh Abdullah told a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari.

On holding the next Arab summit in Baghdad, Shaikh Abdullah said there was a decision by Arab leaders to this effect. "The question is when this summit can be held in Iraq, so that that summit will be successful. We Arabs want to make sure the next summit will be a step forward and at the same time keep Iraq's right to host the summit."

Zebari said the general secretariat of the Arab League will send a delegation to Iraq on January 23to assess the situation there and the preparedness of Baghdad to hold such a summit.

There are security concerns as violence has surged across Iraq since the last American troops left the country, with a string of bombings that has left at least 150 people dead since the beginning of the year.

Car bomb attacks

Yesterday, car bombs ripped through two Iraqi cities, killing at least 11 people, reports said.

Most of the attacks appear to be aimed at Iraq's Shiite majority, suggesting insurgents are seeking to undermine the government.

The sectarian crisis in the government and the spike in attacks — such as a bombing on Saturday that killed more than 50 Shiites and an assault on Sunday against government buildings in western Anbar province that killed seven — has raised concerns that Iraq could return to the sort of sectarian bloodshed that killed tens of thousands of civilians after the 2003 US-led invasion and brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

The Iraqi foreign minister called cooperation between Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council members in security and military areas "good", stressing that it was Iraq's destiny to be with its sisterly countries in the Gulf.

Shaikh Abdullah said more efforts are needed to boost relations between the GCC countries and Iraq.

Discussing proposals

On a Qatari proposal to send peacekeeping troops to Syria, Shaikh Abdullah said the next Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo later this month will discuss proposals from Arab leaders including a proposition from Qatar Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.

On Iran's warnings to neighbours against boosting oil output, the two ministers agreed the situation in the Gulf was serious. "Our brothers in Iraq made efforts … they sent a clear message to Tehran about the Strait of Hormuz. Any talk of the waterways affects us all, whether in the GCC countries, Iraq or Iran. It is in no one's political, economic or military interest. We will exert more effort to detonate the crisis," Shaikh Abdullah said.

Zebari said Iraq supports resolving issue by peaceful means and dialogue.

Iran had warned Gulf neighbours on Sunday against boosting oil production to offset any potential drop in Tehran's crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting its oil sales.

gulfnews : UAE waives $5.8 billion of Iraq debt

 

[AbhijitSingh]

Looks like getting invaded by USA is the best way to get a country's international debt waived off.. Pakistan's finance minister must discuss this with Pakistan's strategic planners .

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

That is really enormous, especially when you consider the size of Iraq's economy.

 

[harpoon]

Most probably UAE will get a slice of the action in Iraq in return for the waiver.

 

[Al Bhatti]

April 9, 2008
Taken Question
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
Iraq's Debt (Taken Question)

Question: How much of Iraq’s debt has been cancelled and by which countries?

Answer: Over the past three years, Iraq’s debt has been reduced by $66.5 billion. With the participation of all members, the Paris Club cancelled a total of $42.3 billion.

The U.S. cancelled 100% of Iraq’s debt of $4.1 billion. Other Paris Club members agreed to cancel 80% of Iraq’s debt. A number of non-Paris Club members have cancelled a total of $8.2 billion, on Paris Club terms. $16 billion has been cancelled by commercial creditors, also on Paris Club terms.

http://merln.ndu.edu/archivepdf/iraq/State/103402.pdf

 

[Al Bhatti]

Jan 17, 2012

UAE cancels Dh21bn of debt owed by Iraq

The UAE will cancel Dh21.3bn in debt owed by Iraq, Sheikh Abdullah, the Foreign Minister, announced yesterday after a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart.

Sheikh Abdullah and Hoshyar Zebari also discussed regional issues, confirming that sending Arab troops to intervene in Syria is on the agenda of next week's Arab ministerial meeting.

They stressed the importance of diplomatic dialogue between the region's countries and Iran over the impact of closing the Strait of Hormuz on the oil market.

Media escalation of Iranian threats to block the Strait of Hormuz "is not to the benefit of the region or the stability of the oil market", Sheikh Abdullah said. "We know the world economy is passing through a crisis and we all know as producers, and other countries that are consumers, that we should look through the technicalities of the oil market, not only by securing the straits but also through speculation - it all should be looked into more seriously."

The Iraqi foreign minister described the issue of trusting Iran as a "big crisis" .

Iraqi officials have been sending letters to Iran warning it of the risks of closing the strait, especially in maintaining oil market stability.

"We don't want to [resolve the issue] through military forces but through dialogue and calming the situation," said Mr Zebari.

He thanked the UAE for writing off his country's debts.

"The relations between the two states did not stop [in the past 10 years] but today we started the official framework of co-operation," he said. "We thank the UAE for cancelling the debts on Iraq, which was a very heavy burden."

In a surprise move in 2008, the UAE wrote off almost US$7bn worth of Iraqi debt left over from the era of Saddam Hussein.

The debt, consisting of loans and grants, dated back to the 1980s, when Gulf states lent money to help Iraq during its long-running war with Iran.

Iraq and the UAE are among nations who have sent monitors to Syria. Iraq has sent 33 observers as part of the Arab League's monitoring team and provided armoured vehicles for transport. The UAE has 12 observers and it is not considering withdrawing them or adding to them, said Sheikh Abdullah.

The ministers said the next Arab ministerial meeting would be held on Sunday in Cairo, following the meeting of the Arab League's committee on Syria on January 2.

They will discuss Qatar's suggestion to send foreign troops to intervene in Syria.

When asked if the UAE favoured such a move, or what its primary interpretation is of what the meeting would decide, Sheikh Abdullah said it depended on the suggestions and discussions that would be made. Sheikh Abdullah said regional unrest greatly worried the UAE and Iraq and was discussed during their meeting.

The ministers described their military relationship as strong, but said it had to be improved.

Trade between Iraq and the UAE reached more than US$4.5bn last year, they said.

The next Arab summit will be held in Iraq but a date has not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Mr Zebari said the recent summoning of the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad was due to comments made by Turkish officials, who intervened in Iraq's internal situation.

"We appreciate very much our relationship with Turkey as our top trading partner in the region ... but it is important to let them know how far can this go, especially when we have internal difficulties," he added.

UAE cancels Dh21bn of debt owed by Iraq - The National

 

[Tihamah]

It is funny and painful in the same time, the US make iraq pay for every single cent costed them to invade it, in the same time ask loaners to forgive iraqi debt!

big mistake iraq goverment is secterian and hostile to it is neighbors and a tale of iran, no debt should be waived, very big mistake by GCC countries.