Kurdish Prime Minister Discusses Key Issues, as he bids Farewell to U.S. Ambassador
After the 2003 war that overthrew Saddam’s regime, the U.S. envisaged a federal system for Iraq, but it has never been realized.
Dec 2, 2024
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) As the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, spent a second day in Erbil, where she has been seeing senior Kurdish figures, she met on Sunday with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani.
Romanowski’s term as ambassador in Baghdad is coming to an end, and Barzani thanked her “for her work in strengthening bilateral relations,” according to a read-out from his office.
Baghdad’s Financial Obligations to Erbil
That read-out stressed the importance of Baghdad fulfilling its financial obligations to the Kurdistan Region.
“They discussed the budget and the constitutional and financial rights of the Kurdistan Region,” it said, affirming that the KRG Prime Minister had “reiterated that the Kurdistan Region has fulfilled all of its constitutional obligations.”
Therefore, as he affirmed, “The federal government must provide the financial entitlements of the people of Kurdistan without delay or deductions.”
When the U.S. led the war that overthrew Saddam Hussein and his regime in 2003, it envisaged a federal system for Iraq, and that, indeed, is enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. But it has never been realized.
U.S. Officials: Kurdistan Region Could be Model for Rest of Iraq
Baghdad has exercised its writ over Erbil, although the Kurdistan Region has consistently proven a better ally to the U.S. than Iraq as a whole, while the KRG has also proved better at governance.
A month ago, following the Oct. 20 Kurdish parliamentary elections, Romanowski was in Erbil to address the 2024 session of the MERI (Middle East Research Institute) forum.
“The Kurdistan Region serves as both a significant source of U.S. trade and investment across Iraq and a model of democracy that could be replicated throughout the country,” she said.
Read More: US Ambassador Congratulates Kurdish Leadership on ‘Successful IKR Election’
In 2019, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D, Illinois) led a Senate fact-finding mission to Iraq. Addressing a Washington audience upon her return, she said, “I think what the Kurds have been able to do sets an example” for the rest of Iraq.
Read More: Sen. Duckworth: Kurdistan is model for Iraq; ISIS not defeated
Similarly,Joey Hood, who served as charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Baghdad before becoming Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told Kurdistan 24 in 2020, “The Kurdistan Region could serve as a model for the rest of Iraq.”
Read More: US: Kurdistan Region can be model for rest of Iraq
Thus, in their meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Barzani and Ambassador Romanowski “emphasized the importance of resuming oil exports from the Kurdistan Region as soon as possible,” according to the read-out from the Prime Minister’s office.
In addition, “both sides agreed on the need to swiftly form a unified and strong new government following the first session of the sixth term of the Kurdistan Region Parliament,” it said.