Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
King to rally support
for Iraq debt reduction
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday said Jordan will continue
supporting international efforts to help rebuild Iraq and reduce its foreign
debt.
“The Kingdom will continue its contacts with the international community to
rally support for the reconstruction of Iraq and easing its debt,” King Abdullah
was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as telling Iraqi Minister of
Planning and Development Cooperation Mahdi Hafez at a Royal Court meeting.
Iraq owes $120 billion in foreign debt, including some $50 billion to Gulf
states and more than $1.3 billion to Jordan, most of it to private firms,
according to Agence France-Presse.
In June, world leaders broke up a three-day summit of the Group of Eight most
industrialised nations in the US state of Georgia, without bridging a rift over
US President George W. Bush's proposal to forgive Iraq's debt.
France, Russia and Canada were among countries who have resisted US efforts to
release Iraq from its obligations.
Amman is expected to host an October meeting of the Jordanian-Iraqi Higher
Committee.
The meeting is set to discuss numerous bilateral issues, including border
security between the two neighbours and the question of Iraq's debt.
Hafez also held separate talks with Prime Minister Faisal Fayez to prepare for
that meeting, which is aimed at “bolstering strategic cooperation” between the
two countries, Petra said.
The committee is to discuss several joint projects between Jordan and Iraq as
well as pave the way for the signing of a free trade agreement, Petra said.
“We need to set up a strategic framework between the two countries ... in order
to achieve an economic renaissance and meet the hopes of our people,” Hafez
said.