Saudis, Kuwait to Forgive Some Iraq Debt
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signaled Wednesday that they would forgive some of the billions of dollars owed them by Iraq, as special U.S. envoy James A. Baker III pressed Arab nations to reduce Baghdad’s debt.
But both countries said they would reach debt-reduction deals only with a sovereign Iraqi government, and neither said how much debt it would forgive.
According to a U.S. official traveling with Baker, the two Persian Gulf nations agreed to forgive a substantial portion of the debts. The official didn’t present exact figures.
Iraq owes $9 billion to the Saudi government and about $15 billion to Kuwait, a debt accumulated before Baghdad invaded the small oil-rich emirate in August 1990.
Baker is traveling around the world on behalf of President Bush to appeal for Iraqi debt forgiveness, which Washington wants in order to boost recovery efforts. Iraq owes about $40 billion to the so-called Paris Club of major creditor nations and at least $50 billion to Arab governments.
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