Baghdad: The Reconstruction and Development Coalition issued a statement today, clarifying that claims that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani granted loans to African countries are incorrect.
According to Iraqi News Agency, the coalition stated in a statement that the public needed to be informed about the inaccuracy of remarks made by MP Mohammed Al-Shammari. The statement emphasized that Al-Shammari's claims about the Al-Sudani government granting loans to African nations are misleading and politically motivated.
The coalition further explained that the loans in question are not recent but date back to the 1970s and 1980s. During that period, the former regime provided oil shipments and loans to several Arab, African, and Asian countries for political reasons. These loans increased with the wars in the early 1980s.
The statement stressed that these loans are considered sovereign debts, monitored by the Ministry of Finance and represented by the Iraqi Fund for External Development, following signed contracts and relevant laws. Specific loans mentioned include two agreements with Tanzania in 1979 and 1980, totaling approximately $187 million, a loan with Uganda in 1981 valued at nearly $15 million, and another with the Central African Republic in 1984 for around $7 million. These figures are updated as of the end of 2024 and are reviewed annually.
The coalition reiterated that during the tenure of the Al-Sudani government, no approval has been given to reduce or settle any sovereign loans. Instead, the government directed relevant bodies to follow up on debt collection according to legal frameworks.
The coalition criticized the release of such statements without consulting official sources as part of a campaign to distort facts and undermine government decisions. It expressed confidence in the public's ability to differentiate between facts and political allegations and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and defending Iraq's financial rights.
The coalition also reserved the right to take legal action against those spreading misinformation aimed at distorting facts and defaming state institutions.