Seoul, Oct 10: Iraq will repay debts on infrastructure projects carried out by the ousted Saddam Hussein regime but it needs patience from creditors, Iraqi interim trade minister Ali Allawi said here. South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction (HEC) is seeking to launch a new lawsuit in Britain to recover 860 million dollars from Iraq in unpaid construction bills.
HEC also wants to create an international grouping of some 20 corporate creditors, including those from Japan and several other countries, as part of efforts to recover the debts.

"The Iraqi government recognises... That the management of liabilities is perhaps an essential precondition for accessing additional funding, particularly from private sectors," Allawi told journalists.
"We have a policy of bringing Iraq back into the international community, making it a creditworthy country," he said, adding that Iraq recognises that it has to negotiate to resolve outstanding debts. Bureau Report