Iraq is promised to get a loan of $195 million from Japan to develop a thermal power station in Basra province, said an Iraqi government statement on Saturday.
The loan was signed during a visit to Iraq by Japan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kentaro Sonoura, who met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the statement said, Xinhua reported.
Iraq needs external financing to plug a budget deficit of approximately 25 trillion Iraqi dinars ($21.44 billion) for this year as it grapples with lower global oil prices and costs associated with the fight against Islamic State.
--IANS
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