Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi’s economic adviser Mazher Mohammed Saleh has outlined Iraq’s debt to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, said sources.
Saleh was quoted by local media as saying, “There is no precise figure for the amount of debt owed by Iraq to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund because the balance is decreasing with the repayment of the debt package plus annual interest, but it does not exceed $5-6 billion.”
He said that World Bank loans are long-term and have grace periods of about six years, extending up to 14 years with moderate interest rates, said local media.
Saleh concluded by saying that the World Bank Loans are “similar to the interest of the London markets on dollar lending transactions plus a small additional percentage representing the bank commission.”
The economy of Iraq depends upon oil as it constitutes 45 percent of the GDP and affects about 80 percent of the growth of the economy, contributing to 93 percent of the government’s revenues.