US Treasury Secretary John Snow met with James Baker, a former secretary of state and a former secretary of the treasury, in Washington December 10, 2003 to discuss US efforts to restructure and reduce Iraq's official debt.
In a Treasury Department statement, Snow said it is "imperative to move quickly to solve this problem if the Iraqi people are to have a chance to succeed as a free, democratic and prosperous nation."
Baker, who served as President Reagan's treasury secretary and President George HW Bush's secretary of state, was appointed December 5 as President George W. Bush's personal envoy to Iraq's creditor nations, and is seeking to refinance the country's debt.
"[T]he issue of Iraq's debt must be resolved in a manner that is fair and that does not unjustly burden a struggling nation at its moment of hope and promise," said Snow. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
