KRG vows implementation of reform agenda in 2020

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday renewed its pledge to fully implement a widely-touted reform agenda in all its institutions in the year 2020.

“We hope to be able to implement our ambitious reform project… and be able to provide citizens more certainty, better livelihood, and improved services,” KRG Diwan Chief Omid Sabah told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

The plan aims to achieve “a stronger, diversified economy that delivers more prosperity for everyone,” according to the KRG website. Primary focuses include reducing debt and promoting economic diversity.

The KRG says it will “create the right regulatory framework to encourage foreign and domestic entrepreneurs, make it easier to do business in Kurdistan, and invest in infrastructure across the region.”

“Potential investors and business partners will draw encouragement from the new government’s determination to tackle its fiscal challenges in a robust and transparent manner while laying the foundations for sustained and widespread economic growth.”

In December, the KRG approved the Reform Bill— which it considers a landmark a step toward reforming the region’s public sector—and sent it to the Kurdistan Region Parliament. A vote needed to make it law has yet to take place, but the legislature has extended its current term by a month to finish studying the proposal.

Read More: Kurdistan Region parliament extends term 1 month to pass Reform Bill

In late December, parliament completed the first reading of the 19-article bill, after which 85 lawmakers voted to grant it an “emergency status” to facilitate its passage.

After the parliamentary committee tasked with writing a comprehensive report about the bill submits it to the legislature, lawmakers would hold another session for a second reading of the bill before a vote can take place for it to become law.

Read More: Top Kurdistan officials to discuss ‘Reform Bill’ as parliament grants it ‘emergency status’

Regarding how the law would affect the Kurdistan Region’s international efforts, Safeen Dizayee, Head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, affirmed to Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday that Erbil will increase its participation in international forums in the new year.

“There are serious efforts to develop our international relations and have a presence on international platforms,” Dizayee said. 

Editing by John J. Catherine