Al Ayam: War in Iraq entailed $80 billion in losses for Arab region

With their small economies, the Arab states' losses as a result of war in Iraq reached 80 billion dollars, Bahraini minister of finance and economy, Abdellah Seif, told Bahraini daily Al Ayam.

Seif said war caused a rise in imports, a decrease in foreign investments and a cut in the number of tourists, besides the increase in security and defense budgets.

Some figures show the losses of Arab economies during the war range between 60 and 80 billion dollars, including 10 billions in the sole Gulf region, the minister said.