Basra governor disputes claim Kurdistan Region developed at expense of Iraqi provinces

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s Basra province has learned from the Kurdistan Region’s experience in service and reconstruction, Governor Asaad al-Eidani said Monday, pushing back against claims the autonomous region had developed at the expense of Iraqi provinces.
Eidani’s remarks came during a meeting with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in the Kurdish capital Erbil, during which the two politicians talked about cooperation, federalism, and the country’s prospects, according to a statement from the premier’s office.
Basra “has taken huge benefits from the experience of the Kurdistan Region in terms of reconstructions and basic delivery,” Eidani told Barzani, denying that the region’s development has been at the expense of other provinces.
Erbil and Baghdad’s relations are shaped by a wide range of issues, including the Kurdish region’s share of the federal budget, land, and compensation for the victims of genocides that the Kurds suffered.
The spotlight is largely placed on the fiscal disputes among other issues. During heightened tensions, some Iraqi politicians and parties regularly claim the Kurdish region has taken more than its fair share of the federal budget, concluding that its development is at the expense of Iraqi provinces.
Barzani expressed the region’s readiness to assist Basra or any other Iraqi provinces, his office said.
The Kurdish Prime Minister also said that “Iraq has the potential to be one of the developed countries in the Middle East” if the management of its natural and humanitarian resources is overseen by “good governance.”
Eidani reiterated that the political system in Iraq is “federal and not centralized,” saying Iraq could not be ruled by a central government.
Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly