US welcomes PUK ministerial return to KRG cabinet meeting

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States Consulate General in Erbil on Monday welcomed the return of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union’s (PUK) ministerial team to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) weekly cabinet meeting and the understanding reached on “critical issues,” according to a tweet.

Following six months of boycott, the PUK team, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Jalal Talabani took part in a cabinet session, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, to discuss various topics.

In the session, the ministers agreed to approve a bill, dubbed “Restructuring of Public Finance in the Kurdistan Region,” to centrally manage revenues, liquidity, public expenses, and salaries, all of which were previously the source of contention between the PUK and government.

The US Consulate General in Erbil “welcomes the return of PUK ministers to [KRG] Council of Ministers after reaching an agreement with the KDP on critical issues,” adding it looks forward to “close cooperation” with the government on topics of mutual interest.

The Kurdistan Region Presidency similarly welcomed the return of the PUK ministerial team.

The normalization of ties came after Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with his Deputy Qubad Talabani in Erbil last week and discussed outstanding issues that had heightened tensions between the KDP and PUK, the two leading parties in the government.

The Council also decided to “reorganize” all the Region’s revenues in an electronic system.

The ministers similarly decided to form a “joint security committee” to investigate all the security-related concerns that had been previously shared by the parties.

The UK and Netherlands also welcomed the top bureaucrat’s meeting last week.

Analysts believe harmonious KDP-PUK relations are necessary for the Region’s stability and development.