| 2008: Iraq wants neighbors to forgive debts |
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April 21, 2008 Iraq's government spokesman, in comments published on Saturday, called on Gulf states to forgive billions of dollars owed from loans and upgrade their diplomatic representation in Baghdad. "Russia forgave 12 billion dollars of Iraqi debt. We have not seen similar moves from our neighbours," Ali al-Dabbagh told Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas ahead of a gathering in Kuwait. "We must abandon the past and part of it is cancelling Iraqi debt," said Dabbagh, adding that most of the debt stemmed from the former regime of Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Gulf states, especially OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, agreed several years ago to forgive a substantial part of Iraqi debt, estimated to total tens of billions of dollars, but Iraq wants this to be translated into action. Foreign ministers of Iraq neighbours, along with Egypt and Bahrain, plus five UN Security Council permanent members and other Group of Eight nations, are to meet in Kuwait on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Iraq. The conference is the third of its kind following the first meeting in Egypt in May and Turkey in November. Dabbagh also urged Iraq's neighbours to upgrade their diplomatic representation in Baghdad to the level of ambassadors. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that Washington was still waiting for Saudi Arabia to send an ambassador to Baghdad as part of increased US efforts to involve Arabs more in rebuilding Iraq and helping "shield" it from what she called Iran's "nefarious influences." Iran, which is vehemently opposed to the US military presence in Iraq, said it will attend the meeting, though it has not made clear at what level. |