Politics

Reform process ‘ongoing’ to diversify revenues, strong economy, PM Barzani tells British envoy

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) ninth cabinet is continuing the reform process of diversifying sources of revenue and fostering economic infrastructure, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told a top British envoy in Iraq on Monday.

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/10/14 11:29

kurdistan Kurdistan Kurdistan Region Britain UK KRG Prime Minister Stephen Hickey Masrour Barzani Sinjar Reform

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) ninth cabinet is continuing the reform process of diversifying sources of revenue and fostering economic infrastructure, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told a top British envoy in Iraq on Monday, according to a statement.

In a meeting with the British Ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hickey, Prime Minister Barzani discussed the latest developments in Iraq and the region as well as ways to develop bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and the United Kingdom, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Barzani highlighted the “ongoing reform process [undertaken] by [the KRG’s] ninth cabinet toward diversifying sources of revenue and fostering economic infrastructure,” the statement noted.

The KRG’s ninth cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Barzani, has begun a series of financial and administrative reforms across the governmental institutions since it took office in July 2019. The financial reforms are intended to reduce reliance on hydrocarbon sales and maximize diverse sources of revenue for the region.

In early October, Prime Minister Barzani addressed the members Kurdistan Parliament on the reform process that his cabinet has embraced.

The British envoy, for his part, expressed his “support” for the recently signed agreement between the KRG and Federal Government of Iraq to normalize the situation in Sinjar “as a base for stabilizing and reconstructing the area [Sinjar] and returning of internally displaced Yezidis.” the statement read.

They also reiterated that Erbil-Baghdad issues, according to the statement, should be resolved “on the basis of [the Iraqi] constitution.”

On Oct. 9, the KRG and Iraq’s central government announced that the two sides reached a security and administrative agreement to normalize the situation in Sinjar, an area disputed between the two governments.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany