Thank You, Mr. Saddam Hussein – President of Iraq!

At that time, the Vice President of the Revolutionary Command Council, Saddam Hussein, met with Mrs. Bình. After listening to her presentation about the country's difficulties after reunification, he immediately responded:

“We have decided to gift 400,000 tons of oil to the South, as a gift to the people of the South on the victory day, and additionally, we will lend another 1.5 million tons.”

Mrs. Bình could hardly believe her ears, and had to ask the interpreter again to be sure that it was true.

At that time, Mr. Nguyễn Cơ Thạch (then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) was also visiting Iraq. And President Saddam Hussein decided to lend 2 million tons of oil at no interest.

After the reunification of the country in 1976, Vietnam began preparations to collaborate with foreign countries to explore and exploit oil and gas. However, we lacked experience in negotiations and contract signing. The Iraqi government sent the best legal and oil experts to help us, pointing out key issues to avoid mistakes when working with foreign oil companies.

In 1979, according to the debt agreement, we began to repay Iraq the first installment. However, at this time, the country had not yet overcome its difficulties, the wounds of war had not healed, and the economy was heavily damaged, while we had to focus on a new war against Pol Pot’s forces in the Southwest and the Chinese invasion in the North. Vietnam could not repay Iraq’s debt on time.

That year, Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng visited Iraq. The government of President Saddam Hussein once again decided to lend Vietnam 100 million dollars to pay the overdue debt to Iraq. This was a unique decision in international relations.

In the following years, Vietnam still faced numerous difficulties and could not repay Iraq. In this situation, our government requested Iraq to delay the debt and accept repayment in goods and labor, with part of the debt being used for reinvestment in Vietnam.

Despite facing significant challenges due to the Gulf War, the Iraqi government agreed to our proposal.

The Final Meeting

More than 20 years later, in 2002, despite our best efforts, we had still not repaid the debt. In February 2002, Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Bình requested permission from our government to visit Iraq, stating that she was about to retire and wanted to meet with her old friend, Saddam Hussein, to discuss the debt that had not yet been settled.

At that time, many people opposed the trip, arguing that we had just signed the BTA trade agreement with the US, and with the tense relationship between the US and Iraq, the visit might complicate the improving Vietnam-US relations. However, Mrs. Bình decided to go.

After 22 years, Mrs. Bình was still treated as an honored guest by the Iraqi government. She was warmly received by President Saddam Hussein at the Al-Faw Palace near Baghdad International Airport.

During their conversation, Mrs. Bình expressed:

"In 1975, I visited Iraq, and the President decided to lend oil to Vietnam. At that time, we were very young. Now, only a few months before my retirement, we still have not repaid the debt to Iraq. I feel sad about this."

Hearing this, Saddam Hussein immediately responded:

"Please go home peacefully, take care of your health, and don't worry about anything. From this moment on, there is no debt between us."

Once again, Mrs. Bình could not believe her ears and asked Ambassador Nguyễn Quang Khai (who was also her interpreter at that time):

"Khai, please ask again if it is true that President Saddam Hussein said that?"

Quickly realizing that Mrs. Bình might not have fully understood him, Saddam Hussein added:

"I don’t know the exact amount Vietnam still owes Iraq, but at 5 PM today, I will send Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan to the residence where you are staying to sign an agreement to forgive this entire debt."

At exactly 5 PM, Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, accompanied by senior Iraqi officials, brought a pre-typed agreement.

The agreement was brief, stating:

"Under the direction of President Saddam Hussein, from today, October… 2002, the government of Iraq has decided to forgive all debts owed by Vietnam. The unpaid debt until this date will be used to invest in joint ventures between the two countries in Vietnam."

In 2003, the US government claimed that Saddam Hussein was producing weapons of mass destruction, despite no concrete evidence (which was later acknowledged as a mistake by intelligence). The US then invaded and overthrew Saddam Hussein’s government.

Sadly, in December 2003, President Saddam Hussein was hanged by a pro-American government.

We, the people of Vietnam, sincerely thank you, Sir, and the country and people of Iraq for your compassion and support to Vietnam!