PM Barzani asks Hadi al-Amiri to support for the rights of the Kurdish people
"He pledged to work with us to solve the budgetary issue."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday evening met with the head of the Fatah Alliance, Hadi al-Amiri to discuss the budgetary issuses between Baghdad and Erbil.
With DPM @qubadjt and the KRG delegation, we met with Hadi al-Amiri to secure support for the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) September 14, 2023
He pledged to work with us to solve the budgetary issue. pic.twitter.com/OH6rChFs4s
"With DPM @qubadjt and the KRG delegation, we met with Hadi al-Amiri to secure support for the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region. He pledged to work with us to solve the budgetary issue," Prime Minister Masrour Barzani made a post on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
During the meeting, PM Barzani also emphasised the importance of upholding the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region, according to a readout from the PM office.
The leader of the Fatah Alliance also voiced his support for efforts to address the unresolved matters and underscored his commitment to resolving the challenges faced by public sector employees in the region.
After meeting Hadi al-Amiri, PM Masrour Barzani announced that they hope to reach some means to achieve the rights and entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.
Moreover, he said that the Iraqi government has informed them that they are cooperating to solve this issue, but along with this, there is a need for political support.
For this reason, PM Masrour Barzani made clear that he is in talks with political parties to secure the necessary political support.
He also drew attention to the fact that they are optimistic about solving the problems, but they are still waiting for the final results.
The Kurdish premier heads a high-level KRG delegation, consisting of Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Ministers of interior, finance, and economy as well as other top officials.
PM Masrour Barzani on Thursday told Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani that the Kurdish financial entitlements should be separated from the political disputes with Baghdad.
I strongly welcome Sayyid @Ammar_Alhakeem’s support to solve all disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. pic.twitter.com/3Nwe8X0AZA
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) September 14, 2023
Al-Sudani, in turn, expressed his government’s willingness to resolve the outstanding issues based on the constitution and called for comprehensive political support to resolve the lingering issues.
The visit comes as Baghdad has refused to pay the Kurdish share of the budget for the last three months, resulting in delayed payments of Kurdish civil servants for at least two months.
While Erbil asserts that it has fulfilled its obligations under the agreements, it claims that the federal government has not honored its commitment to pay civil servants as previously agreed upon.
PM Barzani has hold several meetings today with other senior Iraqi officials during his visit to solve the crisis, including Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi, Siyada (Sovereignty) Coalition leader Khamis Khanjar, former Iraqi Prime Minister and head of the al-Nasr (Victory) Coalition, Haider al-Abadi, former Iraqi PM and head of the National Coalition, Ayad Allawi, former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki and Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Wisdom Movement (Al-Hikma).