*EPF303 12/10/2003
Text: Treasury Secretary Snow Confers with James Baker on Iraqi Debt
(Baker has been appointed to restructure Iraq's debt) (360)

Treasury Secretary John Snow met with James Baker, a former secretary of state and a former secretary of the treasury, in Washington December 10 to discuss U.S. efforts to restructure and reduce Iraq's official debt.

In a Treasury Department statement released December 10, 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 H.W. 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.

Following is the text of Secretary Snow's statement:

(begin text)

FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

December 10, 2003
JS-1052

Statement by Secretary Snow
Following a Meeting Today at The Treasury Department with Secretary Baker

Today, Secretary Jim Baker and I had the opportunity to continue our discussions on the effort to help Iraq restructure and reduce its official debt. I assured Secretary Baker the Treasury will continue to provide necessary resources to support his vital mission. I welcome Secretary Baker as the President's personal envoy to work with heads of state. He will complement my efforts working with finance ministers and the international financial institutions and Secretary Powell's efforts with his counterparts. In our meeting we also briefly discussed the nature of Iraq's debt and strategies to resolve this issue. We agreed that 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. As President Bush said, the 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.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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