gilkman
07-15-2004, 02:38 PM
Linky (http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/)
July 15, 2004
Iraq-Jordanian committee proposed
Iraqi Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi today proposed the formation of a ''joint Iraqi-Jordanian committee'' for resolving outstanding bilateral issues, including frozen Iraqi assets in Jordan and debt claims by Jordan, during a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Mohammad Abu Hammour. He proposed the setting up of a joint panel ''that comprises representatives for several ministries in both countries in order to discuss outstanding bilateral issues as a single package and find speedy solutions for them''. $500m of Iraqi assets are frozen in Jordanian banks, and Abu Hammour said Iraq owes the Central Bank of Jordan about $1.3 billion of accumulated debt.
July 14, 2004
Mahdi wants 95-100% cancellation
Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told Gulf News on Monday: "We are asking for some major forgiveness, to wipe off at least 95 per cent of the debt or 100 per cent. We will have hard discussions with the IMF and the Paris Club in the coming months," he said. We are hoping that by the end of 2004, an agreement will be finalised in favour of Iraq and that the country will be cleared of the huge debt that according to Paris Club figures is about $120 billion."
July 12, 2004
Ayatollah Shahrudi on reparations
IRNA reports that Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi said that the court trying Saddam Hussein has no authority to order reparations for the damage inflicted on Iran and the Iranian nation. Addressing a group of judicial officials he said that the International Department of the Judiciary has established a special group to provide the court with evidence and do its best to defend the rights of all those suffering from Iran-Iraq war.
Abassador Rahim says aid low and debt demands high
The LA Times reports that only about $1bn of the $13bn pledged to Iraq at Madrid last October has actually been given to the UN and World Bank funds established to manage it. Rend Rahim, Iraq's ambassador to the United States, said the aid "is much, much lower than what Iraq was promised.... We shouldn't be set adrift, on our own." She also told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on June 29 that "so far, we do not have any serious pledges for the reduction of Iraqi debt." She criticized countries that have been unwilling to forgive more than a small portion of the debt, saying that the creditors "really want their pound of flesh."
World Bank economist opposes deep cancellation
"If 98% or 100% of the Iraqi debt is simply canceled, then it may be seen by other middle-income countries like Turkey as a kind of unfair treatment, in the sense that they also have a lot of debt and find it very difficult to live with that debt," World Bank Chief Economist Francois Bourguignon said at a press conference in Tokyo.
al-Yawar interview
President al-Yawar was interviewed on Al-Sharqiyah in Baghdad, and asked:"Have you received any pledges during your visit to the United States that Iraq's debts will be scrapped?"
Answer "In fact, there were no official pledges... The French president promised they will work hard through the Paris Club to scrap about 50 per cent of our debts. We aspire for more than this... The ideal way to get rid of debts can be done in two ways. One is writing off the debts and we are working hard in this regard. This will largely relieve us of these debts. The other way is related to the reparations Iraq has to pay to many countries. We, of course, do not force these countries to give them up. There is a law and there are agreements we must respect even if they were signed by the former regime. We respect laws and regulations and would like to maintain good relations with the other countries. We will try to reach an understanding with our brothers and friends on the issue of reparations. We will be very grateful to them if they can help us. The countries must note that there is a process of rebuilding Iraq. We want priority to go to the Iraqi people and Iraqi firms, but international and foreign firms should play a supporting role and help us in this regard. We will take all this into consideration when we decide to open the door for work in Iraq."
July 09, 2004
Saudi paper says debt should be written off
Amir Taheri, writing in Saudi Arabia's english language Arab News, says: "The Arab part of the Iraqi debt consists of the money given to Iraq during the eight-year war against Iran. It would be both honorable and good politics to write off that debt. The Arab states do not need the money."
July 15, 2004
Iraq-Jordanian committee proposed
Iraqi Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi today proposed the formation of a ''joint Iraqi-Jordanian committee'' for resolving outstanding bilateral issues, including frozen Iraqi assets in Jordan and debt claims by Jordan, during a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Mohammad Abu Hammour. He proposed the setting up of a joint panel ''that comprises representatives for several ministries in both countries in order to discuss outstanding bilateral issues as a single package and find speedy solutions for them''. $500m of Iraqi assets are frozen in Jordanian banks, and Abu Hammour said Iraq owes the Central Bank of Jordan about $1.3 billion of accumulated debt.
July 14, 2004
Mahdi wants 95-100% cancellation
Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told Gulf News on Monday: "We are asking for some major forgiveness, to wipe off at least 95 per cent of the debt or 100 per cent. We will have hard discussions with the IMF and the Paris Club in the coming months," he said. We are hoping that by the end of 2004, an agreement will be finalised in favour of Iraq and that the country will be cleared of the huge debt that according to Paris Club figures is about $120 billion."
July 12, 2004
Ayatollah Shahrudi on reparations
IRNA reports that Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi said that the court trying Saddam Hussein has no authority to order reparations for the damage inflicted on Iran and the Iranian nation. Addressing a group of judicial officials he said that the International Department of the Judiciary has established a special group to provide the court with evidence and do its best to defend the rights of all those suffering from Iran-Iraq war.
Abassador Rahim says aid low and debt demands high
The LA Times reports that only about $1bn of the $13bn pledged to Iraq at Madrid last October has actually been given to the UN and World Bank funds established to manage it. Rend Rahim, Iraq's ambassador to the United States, said the aid "is much, much lower than what Iraq was promised.... We shouldn't be set adrift, on our own." She also told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on June 29 that "so far, we do not have any serious pledges for the reduction of Iraqi debt." She criticized countries that have been unwilling to forgive more than a small portion of the debt, saying that the creditors "really want their pound of flesh."
World Bank economist opposes deep cancellation
"If 98% or 100% of the Iraqi debt is simply canceled, then it may be seen by other middle-income countries like Turkey as a kind of unfair treatment, in the sense that they also have a lot of debt and find it very difficult to live with that debt," World Bank Chief Economist Francois Bourguignon said at a press conference in Tokyo.
al-Yawar interview
President al-Yawar was interviewed on Al-Sharqiyah in Baghdad, and asked:"Have you received any pledges during your visit to the United States that Iraq's debts will be scrapped?"
Answer "In fact, there were no official pledges... The French president promised they will work hard through the Paris Club to scrap about 50 per cent of our debts. We aspire for more than this... The ideal way to get rid of debts can be done in two ways. One is writing off the debts and we are working hard in this regard. This will largely relieve us of these debts. The other way is related to the reparations Iraq has to pay to many countries. We, of course, do not force these countries to give them up. There is a law and there are agreements we must respect even if they were signed by the former regime. We respect laws and regulations and would like to maintain good relations with the other countries. We will try to reach an understanding with our brothers and friends on the issue of reparations. We will be very grateful to them if they can help us. The countries must note that there is a process of rebuilding Iraq. We want priority to go to the Iraqi people and Iraqi firms, but international and foreign firms should play a supporting role and help us in this regard. We will take all this into consideration when we decide to open the door for work in Iraq."
July 09, 2004
Saudi paper says debt should be written off
Amir Taheri, writing in Saudi Arabia's english language Arab News, says: "The Arab part of the Iraqi debt consists of the money given to Iraq during the eight-year war against Iran. It would be both honorable and good politics to write off that debt. The Arab states do not need the money."