The United Arab Emirates canceled billions of dollars of Iraqi debt
Sunday and moved to restore a full diplomatic mission in Baghdad,
evidence of Iraq's improved security and growing acceptance of its
Shiite-led government.
The Abu Dhabi government announced the debt relief and the naming of a
new ambassador to Baghdad shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki began a visit to the wealthy Gulf nation.
The news was sure to bolster al-Maliki's government, which has been
urging Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors to forgive loans made during Saddam
Hussein's regime and restore diplomatic relations.
Al-Maliki, who has been in office since May 2006, thanked the UAE for
the debt cancellation, telling local businessmen it was a "swift and
courageous" decision.
The Emirates' official news agency, WAM, quoted the president, Sheik
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as saying he hoped canceling the debt would
lighten the "economic burden" facing Iraqis and he urged the country to
unite behind al-Maliki's government.
WAM said the debt was $4 billion excluding interest. A UAE official who
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak
to the media said the total debt was $7 billion with interest.
Iraq has been appealing for relief of at least $67 billion in foreign
debt — owed mostly to Arab nations that have been reluctant to forgive
Iraq's belligerence during Saddam Hussein's regime.
In addition, the U.N. Compensation Commission says $28 billion remains
to be paid for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraq now gives 5 percent
of its oil revenue to meet the compensation claims.
Al-Maliki's American backers also have pushed Arab states to restore
ties with Iraq, where violence has declined by 70 percent over the past
year. Neighboring Jordan named an ambassador last week, and Kuwait and
Bahrain say they will soon follow suit.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the U.S. welcomed the UAE
decision to cancel the Iraqi debt, appoint an ambassador and reopen
their embassy in Baghdad.
"We appreciate the Emiratis' recognition that a secure and prosperous
Iraq is in the interests of everyone in the region. Prime Minister
Maliki and the government of Iraq should also be applauded for their
continued outreach to their neighbors, and their efforts to advance a
positive agenda through regional diplomacy," said Johndroe, who was in
Japan with President Bush at the Group of Eight meeting of major powers.
In Abu Dhabi, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Abdullah
al-Shehi, the UAE's former head of mission in India, was named
ambassador to Iraq. The country said last month that an appointment was
upcoming.
The UAE withdrew its ambassador to Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion
and after one of its diplomats was kidnapped and later released.
Sunni militant groups like al-Qaida in Iraq, mistrustful of the
government, have warned Arab states not to open embassies in Baghdad.
The capital's first major car bomb of the war struck the Jordanian
Embassy, killing 19 people in the summer of 2003. Diplomats from Egypt,
Morocco, Bahrain, Turkey and Sudan have all been either killed, wounded
or kidnapped in Iraq.
Al-Maliki chided his Arab "brothers" at an April conference of Iraq's
neighbors in Kuwait, saying he found it "difficult to explain why
diplomatic exchange has not taken place." Most major Western diplomatic
missions in Baghdad are located in the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
Iraq's deputy foreign minister, Labid Abbawi, said Sunday that the
country plans to open consulates soon in Detroit, Michigan, and San
Diego. He told The Associated Press they chose those cities because they
have large Iraqi communities.
______
Associated Press Writer Barbara Surk contributed to this report from Dubai.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080707/ap_on_re_mi_ea/uae_iraq_debt
