| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC December 16, 2004 United States and Iraq to Sign Debt Cancellation AgreementSecretary of State Colin L. Powell, Secretary of Treasury John Snow, and Iraq’s Minister of Finance Adil Abd al-Mahdi will sign the 100 percent Debt Cancellation Agreement between the United States and Iraq in a ceremony on Friday, December 17, 2004. The ceremony will take place at 12:00 noon in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the U.S. Department of State Harry S. Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC.
The signing of the Debt Cancellation Agreement is the bilateral agreement that implements the United States’ part of the Paris Club debt reduction agreement reached November 21, 2004. In fact, the United States will go beyond the 80% reduction agreed at the Paris Club and forgive 100% of the $4.1 billion Iraq owes the United States from the Saddam era. Debt relief is a major breakthrough, which allows Iraq to devote its resources to reconstruction and shows international support for Iraqi government. The signing ceremony and remarks by Secretary Powell, Secretary Snow and Minister al-Mahdi will be open to all accredited press. There will be no Q&A. Pre-set-up time for cameras: 11:15 p.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance. Media representatives who plan to attend must present one of the following press credentials: (1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport). For Access Contact: 2004/1372 |
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