Iraq’s external debt reduced to $10B, expected to be cleared by 2028, 28 SEPT

 An announcement made on Thursday by Mudhhir Muhammad Salih, the financial advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, stated that the country’s foreign debt has decreased to less than $10 billion.

Salih informed that the federal budget has allocated funds to settle Iraq’s foreign debt obligations, which remain below $10 billion.

“The Paris Club debt settlement, which includes obligations prior to 1990, is the primary source of these external debts. Salih elaborated, “This includes both foreign private sector debts and sovereign loans, with a plan to repay them all by 2028.”

The Paris Club announced in 2004 a comprehensive settlement to reduce Iraq’s debt—originally $120 billion—by 80 percent in three phases. He emphasized that Iraq’s low level of external debt has improved its financial creditworthiness, which is acknowledged by international rating agencies like the US-based S&P. During the 1980s, as Iraq borrowed money from Arab, European, and Western nations to finance its war with Iran, these debts were accumulated by the previous regime.