Al-Zaidi to discuss $30B held in US
Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Washington
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will discuss the release of roughly $30 billion in Iraqi funds held in the United States during an official visit to Washington next month, an informed source told Shafaq News on Sunday.
The visit will center on redefining the relationship between Baghdad and Washington “on a clear and comprehensive basis, alongside economic and investment files mutually beneficial to both sides.”
Among the visit's most prominent themes, the source added, is the release of one of Iraq's financial guarantees held in the United States, valued at about $30 billion. That sum would be enough to cover government spending, including salaries and allocations, for at least six months.
The release is also tied to efforts to address the fallout from the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf shipping corridor through which much of the region's oil is exported, and to strengthen Iraqi oil exports through alternative outlets in neighboring countries by activating different transport lines to maximize state revenues.
Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed
Iraq holds a range of financial assets and guarantees abroad, some frozen and some held, the source said, adding that the government is working to release the frozen funds to bolster its strategic financial reserve.
Read more: Iraq PM al-Zaidi to Washington with energy deals front, “militia file” unresolved
