Washington, Dec 06: United States President George W Bush as appointed former Secretary of State James Baker as his personal envoy to tackle the estimated USD 120 billion debt staring Iraq in the face. "In response to a request from the Iraqi governing council for assistance, I have appointed James A Baker III to be my personal envoy on the issue of Iraqi debt," Bush said in a statement issued here yesterday. Baker will report directly to the US President and work with creditor nations, international organisations and Iraqis seeking to restructure and reduce Iraq's official debt, it said. According to International Monetory Fund estimates Iraq owes USD 120 billion to several nations, besides the USD 100 billion it owes in reparations for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The future of the Iraqi people should not be mortgaged to the enormous burden of debt incurred to enrich Saddam Hussain's regime, Bush said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that Baker would benefit from his skills as a veteran diplomat and his "strong personal relations with the president of the United States" as he worked to ease the war-ravaged nation's debt burden.
Baker, 73, led us diplomacy under Bush's father, former US President George Bush, notably assembling the broad international coalition that backed the use of military force to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1991.
Bureau Report