PHOTO
The skyline of the city is shown August 5, 2002 in Baghdad, Iraq. The nation celebrated the 14th anniversary of the end of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran War August 8, 2002 with a wreath laying ceremony and a military parade. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein used the occasion to announce that he is not afraid of U.S. military threats. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images) Image used for illustrative purpose
Iraq has managed to slash its foreign debt by more than half over the past two years following a decision to restructure part of the debt, repay some of it and cancel planned borrowing for projects, a government spokesman has said.
From around $19.7 billion at the end of 2022, the OPEC member’s foreign debt shrank to nearly $15.9 billion in mid-2023 and is $8.9 billion currently, Bassim Al-Awadi told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Sunday.
“The government has taken a series of measures to manage the foreign debt.....we do not want to mortgage the national economy to foreign commitments that may affect political decisions in the future,” he said.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa.
