KRG delegation arrives in Baghdad for fourth visit to discuss outstanding issues

A high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday to start a new round of talks in an effort to solve the outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday to start a new round of talks in an effort to solve the outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad.

This is the fourth visit from the Kurdish delegation to the Iraqi capital since the formation of the ninth ministerial cabinet in the Kurdistan Region last summer, headed by Masrour Barzani.

The high-level government delegation consisted of Finance and Economy Minister Awat Shekh Janab, Electricity Minister Kamal Mohammed Salih, Planning Minister Dara Rashid, Regional Minister Khaled Shawani, Chief of the KRG Cabinet Office Omed Sabah, and Cabinet Secretary Amanj Rahim.

In the previous talks, the two sides reached common understandings on a range of outstanding issues, including the autonomous region’s share of the national budget and the oil issue.

On the day before the visit, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said his government is ready to conclude a comprehensive and radical agreement with Baghdad that guarantees the rights of all sides.

The Kurdish leader also expressed the region’s preparedness to fulfil its constitutional obligations in exchange for guaranteeing the financial entitlements owed to the region based on the constitution.

Two days before the delegation’s visit, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani held a series of meetings with senior officials from the federal government as well as political bloc leaders, focusing on the financial crisis and the consequences of the pandemic on Iraq. They also discussed the outstanding issues between the regional and federal governments, and highlighted economy and security among other things.

Oil and budget have been the major source of dispute between the central government in Baghdad and the KRG since the region began to export its oil independently.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany