§ 23. Sir F. WISEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the amount of the obligation taken over by the Iraq Government of the Ottoman public debt under the Treaty of Lausanne?
§ Mr. AMERYIt is hardly correct to speak of Iraq having "taken over" on obligation in respect of the Turkish Debt. The Treaty of Lausanne provided that the pre-War Ottoman public debt should be divided between Turkey and the various detached territories in proportion to the gross pre-War revenue of the several areas concerned. The exact amount to be assigned to each area was fixed by the Ottoman Public Debt Council subject to appeal to an arbitrator. The share assigned to Iraq amounted to about 5 per cent. of the total debt, or £6,772,142 Turkish. This total is made up of a number of sums expressed in Turkish currency, but repayable under different conditions regarding conversion into other currencies. Disputes exist in some cases regarding the interpretation of the provisions relating to conversion and repayment. I am consequently not in a position to estimate the precise sterling equivalent of the above figure.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYAre we, as the Mandatory Power for Iraq, responsible for the payment of this debt?