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Xinhua (10 January 2019)

BAGHDAD

A financial crisis emerged between Iraq and Jordan after the latter demanded Iraq to pay debt of over one billion U.S. dollars, reported local al-Mada newspaper on Thursday.

In return, the financial committee of the Iraqi Parliament said that Iraq requested release of multi-billion frozen deposits from Saddam Hussein era.

The newspaper quoted a Jordanian official as saying that "the financial file between Iraq and Jordan is still pending, as there are financial claims by the two sides against the other since 2003 remained unsettled yet."

"The Jordanian claims include debts for the Jordanian central bank on its Iraqi counterpart of more than one billion U.S. dollars," the Jordanian official said.

On the other hand, the newspaper quoted the rapporteur of the financial committee in the Iraqi parliament Hoshyar Abdullah as saying that "the available information indicates that Iraq has got 3-5 billion dollars deposited in Jordan from Saddam's era, and Jordan has never declared it."

He said that Iraq "is yet to make real action to reclaim the frozen deposits in Jordan, therefore, it is important for both sides to get its right back," according to the newspaper.

Iraq and Jordan have long maintained good relations and the two sides are working to enhance ties especially after the full defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and the secure of the joint border crossing point of Treibil and the main international Baghdad-Amman road in Iraq's western province of Anbar.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/10/c_137734335.htm