France offers 1.15 bln USD loan to Iraq for reconstruction

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim (R) shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at a joint press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 14, 2019. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that his government granted one billion euros (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) loan to Iraq to support reconstruction and stability efforts in the areas destroyed by the war against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)