KRG Delegation Heads to Baghdad for Key Customs Negotiations
Officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq's federal authorities are meeting in Baghdad to discuss June salaries and outstanding differences over the ASYCUDA customs system.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) arrived in Baghdad on Thursday for a new round of talks with Iraq's Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, with discussions set to focus on two key issues: public sector salaries and unresolved differences over the ASYCUDA customs system.
According to Kurdistan24 correspondent Shvan Jabari in Baghdad, the KRG delegation is headed by Omed Sabah, head of the Council of Ministers' Diwan, and is scheduled to meet with officials from the federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit.
One of the main items on the agenda is the payment of June salaries for public employees and salary recipients in the Kurdistan Region.
Jabari said the KRG had informed the federal government in recent weeks that it could no longer transfer the previously agreed 120 billion Iraqi dinars in non-oil domestic revenues. The regional government attributed the shortfall to declining non-oil domestic revenues following recent developments across the region.
The KRG delegation has requested that Baghdad implement the provisions of the law governing financial relations with the Kurdistan Region, under which 50 percent of the Region's domestic revenues would be transferred to the federal government in exchange for the payment of public sector salaries.
The delegation is also expected to continue discussions on the ASYCUDA customs system, an issue that remained unresolved during previous meetings.
According to Jabari, disagreements persist over customs classifications and the digitalization of the Kurdistan Region's customs system. The federal government seeks full control over the system, while the KRG wants greater clarity regarding its share of customs revenues.
These issues remain among the principal points of contention between Erbil and Baghdad, and both sides are expected to seek solutions during Thursday's meeting.
Last week, three separate KRG delegations visited Baghdad to discuss financial entitlements, the ASYCUDA system, and non-oil revenues, while also participating in a meeting of Iraq's High Economic Council.