KRG prepares its budget following Iraq budget approval: PM Barzani

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke about the upcoming Kurdistan Region budget in an April 7, 2021 press conference. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke about the upcoming Kurdistan Region budget in an April 7, 2021 press conference. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will soon send the draft of its budget to Parliament for approval after the Iraqi budget recently passed, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Following a ministerial meeting held earlier in the capital Erbil, Barzani spoke to the press about the status of relations between the autonomous Kurdistan Region and the federal government in Baghdad, the current state of affairs in the region; and the threat of terrorism and coalition against the so-called Islamic State.

“We intend to send a draft to the Kurdistan Parliament,” Barzani said, noting that his cabinet is preparing the budget.

Following heated debates, the Iraqi parliament recently passed the country’s 2021 budget, in which the Kurdish region’s share is stipulated at 12.67 percent.

The KRG has three sources of revenue, the premier said, classifying them as the amount Baghdad sends to the Region as its financial entitlement; the Region’s domestic revenues; and money from the sale of oil.

Barzani also reiterated his government’s commitment to the obligations the Region has under the budget law, and said he hoped the Iraqi government does the same.

The Region’s allocation from Baghdad was one of the key points of contention between the Kurdish and Iraqi governments holding up the passage of the 2021 budget. Disagreements over the status of disputed territories and the salary and arming of the Region’s Peshmerga forces remain.

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly