Joint committees between Erbil-Baghdad to convene soon, discuss key disputes: KRG

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A joint committee between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq will meet soon to discuss mechanisms on how to resolve longstanding issues between both sides, the KRG said on Monday.

The statement came following a KRG Council of Ministers meeting headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The autonomous Kurdish government did not mention the date of the joint committee meeting but noted it would take place soon.

During Monday’s meeting, Prime Minister Barzani highlighted the recent high-level KRG delegation’s visit to Baghdad which met with senior Iraqi officials.  

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In the past few months, Erbil and Baghdad formed a joint committee to address the deep-rooted problems between the two sides within the framework of the Iraqi Constitution. The key issues are related to oil and gas, budget, and the disputed territories.

The digitalization of public services for citizens, which aims to reduce bureaucracy in the government sector and speed up the process, was another topic the ministers underlined in Monday’s meeting.

Among the missions of the new government outlined on the KRG website is the renewal of Erbil-Baghdad relations as the Kurdistan Region works to improve governance and conduct key reforms in the public sector.

Ties between Erbil and Baghdad were considerably depleted following the Kurdistan Region’s historic independence referendum in September 2017. Relations began to improve namely after the formation of the new Iraqi government in late 2018 headed by Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany