Iraq’s debt is manageable and does not pose a threat to the domestic economy and project funding, an Iraqi deputy has said.

The foreign debt has dipped to just around $8 billion currently from over $21 billion three years ago due to government measures to slash borrowing and pay debts, said Mouin Al-Qadhimi, a member of Parliament’s Financial Committee.

He told Baghdad Al-Youm news agency that nearly 63% of the OPEC producer’s domestic debt of around $55 billion is owed to the Central Bank.

“Iraq’s domestic and foreign debts do not pose any threat to the economic and financial situation as they are manageable and are paid back as planned,” he said.

Officials in 2024 ruled out fresh borrowing to fund projects following the approval of a landmark three-year budget for fiscal years 2023-2025 with annual spending of $153 billion and allocations for nearly 7,000 projects.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Bhaskar Raj)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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