Arab states owe Iraq dollars

Arab states owe Iraq a total of 1.5 billion US dollars in unpaid debts, profits on investments and bank deposits, the finance ministry said on July 8.

A ministry spokesman, quoted by the official news agency, INA, said Saudi Arabia tops the list with a debt of 518.79 million US dollars.

Syria owes more than 400 million US dollars, followed by Bahrain with 290 million US dollars, Kuwait with 150 million US dollars, Somalia 78.7 million US dollars, the United Arab Emirates 16.87 million US dollars and Egypt with 2,23 million US dollars.

The debts also include the value of Iraq's oil exports via its neighbors before the UN sanctions were imposed in August 1990.