The United Arab Emirates has cancelled a $7 billion debt owed to them by Iraq, as announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
The decision is result of joint efforts by the United States and Al-Maliki to encourage Arab governments to follow Western countries supporting Iraq in its recovery by excusing part of its $80 billion in foreign debt.
To date, over $66 billion of Iraq's former $120 billion foreign debt have been excused, with the Paris Club—a group of financial officials from the wealthiest nations—having cancelled over $43 billion.
In this absolution, United Arab Emirates becomes the first Gulf Arab country to forgive the debt owed to them by Iraq.
Al-Maliki, had recently urged nations to forgive their debts to encourage the growth of the Iraqi nation in an April meeting in Kuwait with the financial ministers of the Gulf and Western nations, and again in May in a speech given at an international conference in Stockholm.
Both speeches were aimed, in particular, at Gulf Arab nations.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the foreign minister of UAE had visited Baghdad several weeks earlier in the first visit by the foreign minister from the Arab Gulf nations since 2003.
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