Iran’s external debt decreased slightly to $8.84 billion by up until August, the central bank reported.
The foreign debt is 1.06% or $95 million lower compared to the figure reported for the same period last year.
Medium and long-term debt stood at $6.36 billion, accounting for more than 71.9% of the total. Short-term debt was $2.48 billion on March 2021, rising from $1.75 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Short-term debt includes all debt with original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt.
The decline in external debt comes after months of increase, mostly due to Tehran’s efforts to raise funds for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the first months of the plague.
Iran received $50 million from the World Bank to help the health sector cope with the fatal disease, a deputy health minister said earlier.
The OPEC Fund for International Development also approved a $500,000 in emergency grant to Iran to help buy equipment to fight the coronavirus.
Iran has solicited multilateral development banks for funds, in which the country is a member, namely the Islamic Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.
The Central Bank of Iran requested $5 billion in emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund but was turned down by the crisis lender under US pressure.
Analysts say low foreign debt is not benign for economic growth because the amount of foreign debt also reflects the strength of a nation’s economic ties with foreign lenders and international monetary institutions. Likewise, it also can reflect a country’s inability to borrow on the international market.
