» Home » Business News Iraq Directory Services Plans Subscription Contact us Site Map Help About Iraq Kuwait to ask parliament to write off 80pc of Iraqi debt KUWAIT CITY -The Kuwaiti government will shortly ask the emirate’s parliament to approve an 80 per cent reduction in Iraq’s estimated 16-billion-dollar debt, the foreign minister said yesterday. “We will recommend parliament to approve the reduction... of 80 per cent decided by the Paris Club of creditors. We support any write off of Iraqi debt,” Shaikh Mohammad Al Sabah said in a lecture at Kuwait University. Kuwait’s outspoken elected parliament must approve any decision to grant or waive loans to other nations. A number of hawkish MPs have in the past declared their opposition to any major financial concessions to Iraq. Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and occupied the emirate for seven months before being evicted by a US-led multinational coalition in the 1991 Gulf War. The minister said, however, that the issue of Gulf War reparations, which Kuwait is claiming from Iraq over the invasion, is a different matter. “War compensations were decided by a UN Security Council resolution... It’s an international issue,” Shaikh Mohammad said. Kuwait has filed compensation claims worth 170 billion dollars to the UN Compensation Commission, which has already approved some 40 billion dollars in payments and actually paid about 10 billion. Kuwait has made a long-term strategic decision to help Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in April last year, Shaikh Mohammad said. “We are watching the birth of a new, democratic Iraqi state that respects human rights. We have a big duty to support this state... In doing so, we are looking to the future,” he said. Late Tuesday, the minister said that after the necessary parliamentary approval, the government will write off 30 per cent of the debt estimated at 16 billion dollars without interest. Another 30 per cent will be cut after Iraq signs an economic reform deal with the International Monetary Fund while the remaining 20 per cent will be forgiven after three years. Source : Khaleej Times © 2002-2004 Iraq Directory - All Rights Reserved