ABU DHABI, July 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The new Iraqi government has asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to write off its 3.8-billion-US-dollar debt and help Iraq in rebuilding the country from rubble,the Gulf News reported Wednesday.

    Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq's finance minister who is heading a 3-member delegation to attend a meeting with high officials of UAE todiscuss the current political and economic situation in Iraq, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that the country can not pay back its entire debt.

    "We are asking for some major forgiveness, to wipe off at least 95 percent of the debt or 100 percent. We will have hard discussions with the IMF and the Paris Club in the coming months," said Mahdi.

    He hoped that by the end of 2004, an agreement will be finalizedin favour of Iraq and that the country will be cleared of the huge debt that according to Paris Club figures is about 120 billion US dollars.

    Iraq is meeting its expenditure from oil export revenues and aidfrom donors, Mahdi said.

    "Oil production is around 2.2 to 2.3 million barrel per day (bpd), even reached 2.4 million sometimes. We are exporting oil between 1.7 to 1.9 million bpd," he said.

    "We are planning and working to increase production of oil to atleast 3 or 3.5 million bpd by the end of next year. This is the number that Iraq exported earlier," the minister told the paper. Enditem