He said the money was owed to 16 countries and international financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank, the International Development Association and the OPEC fund for international development.

Dr Lin Aung provided the information in response to a question from U Kyaw Khine Win @ U Pho Cho, who holds the Pyithu Hluttaw seat of Mae Sae Township, Kayah State, for the Union Solidarity and Development Party, and is a member of the lower house Banks and Monetary Development Committee.

In a report submitted on February 5, the Public Accounts Joint Committee urged the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw to closely monitor the government’s domestic and foreign debts and to publish the amount owed in each annual budget report for the sake of transparency.

The 16 countries to which the government owes money are China, India, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Serbia, Germany, France, Finland, Netherlands, Austria, Britain, Canada, Italy and Saudi Arabia.