:: Iraq is promised to get a loan of $195 million from Japan to develop a thermal power station in Basra province, said an Iraqi government statement on Saturday.

The loan was signed during a visit to Iraq by Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kentaro Sonoura, who met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the statement said, Xinhua reported.

Iraq needs external financing to plug a budget deficit of approximately 25 trillion Iraqi dinars ($21.44 billion) for this year as it grapples with lower global oil prices and costs associated with the fight against Islamic State.