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UAE,Qatar to waive most Iraq debt after Baker trip
The Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), key U.S. allies, said on Tuesday after talks with Washingtonâs Iraq debt envoy that they would waive most of the more than $7 billion Iraq owes them. The crown prince of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, said his country was prepared to start talks to write off most of Iraqâs debts which a UAE source told Reuters were more than 14 billion dirhams ($3.8 billion). "The UAE will waive most of Iraqâs debts and is prepared, for this purpose, to start urgent negotiations over the matter so that the results of the talks are acceptable to the new Iraqi government," the state news agency WAM quoted Sheikh Khalifa as saying after meeting the U.S. envoy James Baker. In Qatar, a Foreign Ministry official said his country would waive most of Iraqâs debts and consider writing off the rest. Another Qatari official told Reuters that Iraq owes Doha about $4 billion that has accrued since the 1980s. "The state of Qatar will forgive most of the debts Iraq owes it and will consider waiving the remaining amount at a later, more appropriate time," the ministry official told the state news agency QNA after a meeting between Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Baker. Damm, James Baker must be carrying that briefcase from "Pulp Fiction". Posted by: Steve 2004-01-20 |
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