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Russia will make loans to Iran in 2021 for the first time in 30 years

14 December 2022 13:37 (UTC +04:00)

Belarus, Bangladesh, and India were Russia’s top borrowers last year, giving Iran a loan for the first time in 30 years, APA reports citing World Bank.

Thus, Minsk’s debt to Moscow increased by 1.9 percent compared to the previous year and reached 8.5 billion dollars. Bangladesh ranks second with $4.4 billion in debt, almost a third more than a year ago. In third place is India – its debt increased by 11.7 percent to $ 3.3 billion.

Next comes Vietnam, which has increased its debt by just 0.9 percent yearly to 1.5 billion. Yemen climbed to fifth place (1.17 billion), while Afghanistan ranked sixth with 1.16 billion.

Uzbekistan’s debt has grown the most in the past year – suddenly increasing 77 percent to $254.7 million. Egypt’s debt increased by 63.7 percent to 867.2 million. Pakistan increased its borrowing by 20.8 percent to $86.7 million.

Iran was on the list of Russian debtors for the first time since the early 1990s – according to the results of last year, it owed six million dollars. According to World Bank materials, Tehran’s debt to Moscow was last paid off in 1992. Then it was equal to 251.3 thousand dollars.

Overall, 38 countries owed money to Russia in 2021. Its total debts are estimated at $26.54 billion and have increased 7.4 percent over the year. Asia was $12.06 billion, Europe $10 billion, the Middle East $3.05 billion, Africa $1.35 billion, and Latin America $86.1 million.