‘90 percent of outstanding problems between Erbil-Baghdad resolved’: Iraqi PM

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Ninety percent of the outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad have been resolved, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi told a press conference in Baghdad on Tuesday.

“The remaining 10 percent of the problems will be solved soon,” he said. “What is needed now is for the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to sit together to build trust and goodwill and search for solutions.” 

Kadhimi warned about rising prices due to the war in Ukraine and called on the security forces to monitor the markets closely. 

“In the ministers’ council meeting, we decided to allocate three billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $2 million) for each Iraqi province in response to water shortages,” Kadhimi revealed. “We have to admit that Iraq is in a bad situation; though, some parties want to spread a culture of pessimism among Iraqis.” 

“Iraq lacks a public budget, and we presented the Emergency Support for Food Security and Development bill to solve some of the problems related to making electricity and food ration card items available and pay farmers their dues,” he said.

Read More: Iraqi parliament to convene Wednesday for voting on food security bill

He pointed out that “Iraq has restored its foreign relations with the region’s countries and the world after being a semi-isolated country.”

Kadhimi also revealed that before his government came into office, the Iraqi economy was on the verge of collapse.

“We had no cash to pay salaries,” he said. “Our reserves in the Central Bank were close to $50 billion. In the two years since this government came to power, those reserves have grown to $76 billion, which is the fastest growth in the history of Iraq.”