Iraq urges China to write off rest of debts

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi finance ministry on Friday urged China to write off the rest of Iraqi debts worth $8.5 billion. “Minister Bayan Jabr al-Zubaidi held a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Iraq, during which he urged China to play a positive role in Iraq through obtaining a new decision from the UN Security Council to protect the Iraqi money deposited in the Development Fund Iraq,” the ministry said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com. “The minister had signed a memorandum of understanding during his recent visit to China which envisages writing off 80% of Iraqi debts owes to China, expressing hope that the Chinese government would write off 100% of the Iraqi debts,” the statement added. For his part, the Chinese ambassador asserted his government’s keenness to support Iraqi people and government. SH (P) 1