Iraq – The Iraqi external debt reduces due to the rise in oil prices and increased exports

Location: Baghdad – Iraq

Language: Arabic

Voice: Natural

Duration: 00:02:49

Source: A24

Restrictions: A24 Clients

Dateline: 23-01-2022

Storyline:

The Vice President of the Central Bank and Economic Adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Salih, said that the improvement in the economic situation has lowered the volume of Iraqi foreign debts to twenty billion dollars. Economists considered the rise in global crude oil prices, and the increase in oil exports, especially last year, are behind the low level of external debt. They added that the financial data indicate an increase in the value of the government’s internal debt, by a large percentage reaching seventy-four trillion Iraqi dinars, yet, the reasons are unknown and clarifications from the Ministry of Finance hasn’t been received.

Shot list:

• (SOUNDBITE) Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Salih – Advisor to the Prime Minister for Economic Affairs:

“The debt situation is good, frankly, the external debt is decreasing and there is a financial relief in Iraq now, the due debts are less than 20 billion dollars, and it has allocations in the budget, given to that Iraq’s credit rating is high and this rating came from the ability to pay these debts”

• (SOUNDBITE) Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani – Economist):

“2021 was a good year for the Iraqi government, oil revenues with the increase in oil prices, and the exported quantities covered the actual unplanned operational and investment expenditures. Since the amount of the Iraqi government debt is around 120 trillion Iraqi dinars, the external debt has decreased a lot reaching 19 trillion or less than 19 billion dollars, and the internal debt has reached 74 trillion Iraqi ‘Dinar. There are no reasons for this increase, especially with the improvement of the financial situation of the Iraqi government that rose by 7 or 8 trillion dinars.”

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