KRG Delegation in Baghdad to Finalize Revenue Audit as Salary Payment Looms
A KRG delegation is in Baghdad to audit revenues under a new financial deal. This comes as Erbil awaits the transfer of May salaries from the federal government, which are expected to be disbursed shortly following a procedural delay.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government is in Baghdad today for crucial meetings to implement a landmark financial agreement, focusing on auditing non-oil revenues as the region awaits the imminent transfer of long-overdue salaries for May.
According to Kurdistan24 reporter Dilan Barzan, the KRG delegation consists of the Directors General of Accounting and Budget from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Director General of Banks for the Kurdistan Region. They are scheduled to meet on Wednesday with officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit.
The visit is a direct part of the recent Erbil-Baghdad agreement aimed at resolving persistent disputes over public sector salaries, the management of non-oil revenues, and the resumption of the Kurdistan Region's oil exports. The joint delegations will audit the Kurdistan Region’s non-oil revenues and determine the federal government's share, a task they are required to complete within a two-week timeframe according to the accord.
The agreement marks a critical step in a long-running and often contentious relationship between the KRG and the federal government over budget allocations and resource management. These disputes have been severely exacerbated since the March 2023 halt of Kurdistan's oil exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline following an international arbitration ruling, which deprived both the KRG and Iraq of significant revenue and placed immense pressure on the KRG's ability to pay its public sector employees.
According to the text of the agreement published by the Iraqi Council of Ministers on July 17, a joint team will "classify non-oil revenues, audit them, and determine the federal government's share of these revenues, starting from May 2025."
While the audit process gets underway, the disbursement of May salaries hangs in the balance. The Iraqi Ministry of Finance indicated on Tuesday that it had begun the process of disbursing the funds. However, the KRG's Ministry of Finance and Economy has not yet confirmed the deposit of the money into its account at the Erbil branch of the Central Bank of Iraq.
Information obtained by Kurdistan24 suggests the delay was caused by Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami signing off on the disbursement late Tuesday afternoon, after the end of official working hours. It is expected that the KRG finance ministry will announce the arrival of the funds in the next few hours, with salary distribution potentially beginning as early as Thursday, July 24.
Demonstrating its commitment to the new deal, the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy confirmed in a press release on Tuesday that it had deposited 120 billion dinars in cash, representing the region's non-oil revenue for May, into the federal Ministry of Finance's bank account.
The last time Baghdad sent salaries to the Kurdistan Region was over 80 days ago, on May 13.
Under the new agreement, until the region's oil production returns to its previous level, the KRG will hand over its current daily output of approximately 80,000 barrels to Iraq’s state-owned SOMO company. In exchange, Baghdad will disburse the salaries for May and subsequent months to the Kurdistan Region's employees.
Kurdistan24's correspondent in Baghdad Dilan Barzan contributed to this report.
