Iraq plans to write off part of Somalia’s debts, Arab League official

Iraq plans to write off part of Somalia’s debts, Arab League official

Source: ahramonline, Monday January 9, 2023

Director of the Horn of Africa and Sudan Department of the Arab League Zayd Saban said the AL has received an official memorandum from the Iraqi government notifying it that it will cancel part of Somalia’s debts to Iraq.


Somalia .AFP

In an interview with MENA on Saturday, Saban said the decisions issued by consecutive Arab summits have urged Arab countries to give priority to forgiving Somalia’s debts.

According to Somali figures, the total amount of Mogadishu’s debts towards Iraq was approximately 187 million US dollars, until December 2019.

Somalia has been experiencing exceptional conditions over the past decades, he said, noting that the AL has launched unprecedented work since 2016 to handle Somalia’s foreign debt issue.

He referred to an AL-United Nations conference held last month to review means of supporting Somalia’s capabilities in the face of climate change.

He noted that the conference resulted in the launching several unprecedented initiatives for supporting Somalia.

He lauded the efforts exerted by Arab countries to support Somalia, highlighting Egypt’s relief efforts for backing the African Arab state.

He also referred to the Egyptian-Somali agreement to open a branch of Banque Misr in Somalia to facilitate financial cooperation between the two sides.