Sudanese advisor: The World Bank’s estimate of Iraq’s debts at more than $150 billion is unreal
Sudanese advisor: The World Bank’s estimate of Iraq’s debts at more than $150 billion is unreal
08-30-2023
Adviser to the Prime Minister for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih confirmed today, Wednesday, that the World Bank’s estimate of Iraq’s debts of more than $150 billion is exaggerated and unreal .
Saleh said, “The issue of Iraqi public debt requires a professional differentiation of its history and details, and not taking its numbers without a clear logical analysis. The internal public debt, which is approximately 71 trillion dinars, and which the government banking system still retains possession of those debts in the form of government bonds and treasury transfers, is estimated when evaluated in foreign currency.” At about 54 billion dollars, while the external debt payable until the year 2028 is estimated at about 23 billion, and there are debts due after the year 2028, so the external debt becomes about 30 billion dollars .
He added, “There is a debt pending on the 2004 Paris Club agreement, i.e. sovereign debts before 1990 belonging to four Gulf countries and four other countries, which are about 40 billion dollars, and if they are activated, if they are correct (because they are, as is termed economically, reprehensible debts because they financed the Iraqi-Iranian war.” At that time, if it is correct again, then it must be deducted by 80% or more under the Paris Club agreement for the year 2004, to become about less than $ 9 billion or less .
Saleh continued, “We do not know the method of calculating the debt in the World Bank report. It may have included the (hypothetical) deficit in the federal general budget 2023, which is estimated at about 64 trillion dinars, and part of it was approved to reach the external debt of 50 billion dollars, as an expectation of the total internal public debt early, which is an issue.” It has not been achieved, and therefore the reading of Iraq’s internal and external debts, according to what was published by the World Bank, came to be about 152 billion dollars, and this is an exaggeration instead of being about 84 billion dollars (except for the balance suspended on the Paris Club agreement as an abhorrent debt) and what was published Debt balances are not real and judgmental .
He pointed out, “However, the public debt-to-GDP ratio, even in light of its unjustified inflation, will remain between 54-57% of the estimated GDP for the year 2023, and it is within the current safe economic stability area, which is usually estimated at about 60%. ”
dijlah.tv
