KRG Council of Ministers to discuss Erbil, Baghdad talks on budget, oil export resumption

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Wednesday is set to discuss the ongoing Erbil and Baghdad discussions regarding the budget and resumption of oil export, according to a statement.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will chair the weekly session, a statement from the government read.

The ministers will discuss a “number of important issues and topics,” including the KRG and Iraqi federal government discussions regarding the oil resumption, civil servants’ salaries, and budget, the press release added.

The government officials will also be briefed on the mid-January visit of the KRG delegation, headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, to Davos, Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum, it added.

The Kurdistan Region's oil export through Turkey's Ceyhan port has been halted since March 25 following Baghdad's request after it had claimed victory against Turkey at a Paris court. 

In the absence of paying the Kurdish share from the federal budget, the Iraqi government has released several payments as loans to Erbil for it to be able to pay its civil servants.

Since its adoption in early June, KRG diplomats have alleged the budget has not been implemented properly by the government. Instead of paying the Kurdish share, they allege Baghdad has released allowances to Erbil to cover public salaries. The KRG has previously said the 500 billion dinars (over $384 million) provided by Baghdad thus far is not sufficient to pay the salaries.

Hailed as one of the country’s biggest budgets, the state expenditures were set at 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars ($153 billion), with a deficit of more than 64 trillion dinars (over $48 billion).