Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (gov.krd) - Kurdistan Regional Government senior officials and Kurdistan Region’s team in Baghdad yesterday held a meeting at the Council of Ministers building in Erbil.

The Kurdistan Regional Government officials presented a comprehensive clarification on the agreement reached between Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal Iraqi government last December on oil export and budgetary issues.

They reaffirmed KRG’s commitment to honour this agreement which became law in 2015’s federal budget.

The Kurdistan Regional Government officials explained the technical constraints which affects the implementation of the agreement as well as a misunderstanding of some terms of the agreement which the Kurdistan Regional Government is working closely with the Federal Government of Iraq to overcome these obstacles and resolve the issues.

They added that there are also some political sides in Iraq that are trying hard to hamper any improvement occur in relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.

The role of the Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi parliament and government in ensuring that both sides are committed to the implementation of the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil was highlighted and praised.

In the meeting, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, stated that he was ready to visit Baghdad again in order to find common ground and overcome technical obstacles and misunderstandings.

In this regard he instructed a group of Kurdish ministers in the Federal Government of Iraq to open frank discussions with Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi.

The attendees stressed the importance of the implementation and compliance with the 2015 federal Iraqi budget. The Kurdistan Regional Government officials stated that they request the Iraqi government to deal with the Kurdistan Region and its share in line with what was agreed in this year’s federal budget.

More than one plan on how to pay the salaries of Peshmerga and civil servants were also discussed. They stressed that KRG’s current priority is the provision of salaries for its employees.

It was also decided to hold regular meetings every two months. A committee in charge of coordination between the two sides was formed.
 

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (gov.krd) - Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday in Erbil met members of the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee.

During the meeting, which was also attended by the Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and a number of ministers, both sides discussed the agreement reached last December between the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government on oil export. They also discussed issues related to oil and gas law, the role of the Committee in following up and monitoring the latest agreement as well as all other oil and gas issues in Iraq.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the Kurdistan Region deals with hydrocarbon file in line with the rights enshrined for the Region in Iraq’s Federal Constitution. He said that the Kurdistan Regional Government, throughout the phases of exploration, production and export of its oil, has not committed any unconstitutional act. He pointed out that Kurdistan Region oil policy is fully based on the Region’s constitutional rights. For this reason, he urged the Committee to monitor, observe and follow up the entire process in the Kurdistan Region.

Prime Minister Barzani stressed KRG’s commitment to the agreement reached with the Federal Government of Iraq, hoping to reach a full agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on settling all the outstanding issues between the two sides. The Prime Minister urged that the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee to play a role as a third party, monitoring the implementation of the agreement. He expressed Kurdistan Regional Government’s willingness to cooperate and coordinate with the Committee in any manner that it deems appropriate.

The Head and members of the Iraqi Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee expressed their pleasure for visiting Kurdistan Region, where they held a number of meetings. They called for greater cooperation and coordination between their committee and the Kurdistan Parliament Oil and Gas Committee as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources and other relevant bodies. They stressed that the Committee will play an efficient role in helping resolve the outstanding issues between both regional and federal governments in order to serve the public interest of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.