Baghdad, Iraq, (KRG.org) - Within three days of arrival in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, concluded an agreement with the Federal Government of Iraq. Prior to leaving Baghdad, back to Erbil yesterday, Prime Minister Barzani spoke with the media about the meetings and results of the negotiations.

The KRG Prime Minister highlighted the meetings of the past two days, saying, “During the past two days we have been here in Baghdad in order to address issues between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad.  We conducted several meetings with the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Oil Minister, and other ministers. Different teams focused on different negotiations. We completed our visit today.”

Speaking about the conduct and atmosphere at the meetings the Prime Minister said, “I would like to say the meetings were generally positive. We saw a real desire by the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Iraqi Oil Minister, and all other ministers in Prime Minister Abadi’s government to resolve important issues with the Kurdistan Region. I want to emphasize and reiterate that our preference from day one was to resolve all issues through dialogue.  We preferred this option and believe it is the best option.”

Regarding the agreements, Prime Minister Barzani said, “After the former Iraqi Prime Minister unilaterally cut the share of the Kurdistan Region from the Iraqi budget we have attempted to resolve the issue through dialogue.  Fortunately, we reached an agreement with Prime Minister Abadi and his team on a number of issues.  We believe the agreement is transparent and serves the interests of both the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad. Both sides came out of these negotiations successfully."

Regarding the details of the meetings, the Prime Minister said, “The agreement is as follows: The KRG will deliver 250,000 barrels of oil per day from oilfields in the Kurdistan Region to Baghdad, and we will assist them in exporting Kirkuk oil. In turn, the Federal Government of Iraq will provide the Kurdistan Region 17 percent share of the federal budget. We emphasized that the amount received in the past was never 17 percent, it was always less.” 

On the issue of the Peshmerga forces dues which was one of the main unresolved issues, Prime Minister Barzani said, “Prime Minister Abadi offered his respect and gratitude to the Peshmerga forces, especially in the struggle and sacrifices they have been making on the battlefield fighting against ISIS terrorism. Baghdad agreed to allocate 1 trillion 200 billion Iraqi Dinars for the Peshmerga.”

Prime Minister Barzani explained details of the agreement, saying, “The current agreement is not the final agreement, but we believe it to be a good start. There are other issues we should discuss in the coming period and we hope to reach agreement on them, too. This is a good start for both sides and, hopefully, we will resolve all outstanding problems and obstacles within a period of six months or so.

“I can say that, in general, we are pleased with this agreement and consider it a gain for all parties. Given the problems between Erbil and Baghdad, we can say we have come a long way.  What we have seen this time in Baghdad is a desire by the Iraqi Prime Minister to tackle these problems. This encourages us to move forward faster. As I said, our priority is to address and resolve our problems with Baghdad.”

Regarding external pressure, particularly from the United States and other parties on the KRG delegation to reach agreement with Baghdad, the Prime Minister said, “There was no pressure on us.  What we have achieved was through the desire of both Baghdad and Erbil to reach a mutually satisfying agreement. The United States, United Kingdom, and the United Nations role is to encourage both sides to negotiate to reach an agreement. They did not interfere in the negotiations and did not exert any pressure, even in the organization of the meetings. As you know, Iraqi Oil Minister Dr. Adil Abdul Mehdi visited Erbil recently and met with Deputy Prime Minister Mr Qubad Talabani and I.  We agreed then to visit Baghdad to begin these talks.”

Regarding the amount allocated by the Iraqi Government for the Peshmerga forces, whether it was taken from the Kurdistan Region’s portion of the federal budget, Prime Minister Barzani said, “The amount agreed for the Peshmerga forces will be from outside the Kurdistan Region’s share of the budget, meaning it will not be from the 17 percent allocated to the Kurdistan Region. They agreed the Peshmerga forces are part of the Iraqi defense system. This agreement is very important because after 11 years of negotiations Baghdad agreed to the proposal to allocate a portion of the national defense budget to the Peshmerga forces.”

In response to a question, KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani emphasized, "the agreement reached between the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government works in favor of all sides and I believe that everybody will support this agreement."

Prime Minister Barzani thanked the civil servants, businessmen, and contractors in the Kurdistan Region for their patience with salary and payment delays. He said, "We have already received a payment and are receiving another one.  We hope to overcome the issue of public service salaries by January."   

Regarding exporting oil from Kirkuk oilfields through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline, the KRG Prime Minister explained that, practically speaking, Kirkuk oil can flow only through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline. "We have agreed to export 300 thousand barrels per day. The technical process may start this week."

Prime Minister Barzani also noted, "the process of exporting Kirkuk oil through the Region’s pipeline is in the interest of both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. He said the Region would not charge the Iraqi federal government for the export. The Region works within the framework of the Constitution of federal Iraq. This gives the Kurdistan Region opportunity to coordinate approaches to oil export and solve issues without stress." 

Regarding the oil exported by the Kurdistan Region independently, the Prime Minister said, “We continue to export oil that we have, but we will first use it to meet the Region’s domestic fuel requirements. We will export the rest after meeting domestic demand."     

Regarding the agreement between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, Prime Minister Barzani explained, "The budget law is for one year. When we came from Erbil we knew that we will not resolve all issues in a meeting or two. We thought our visit called for a strategy to resolve the issues.  We have now set the strategy. The agreement we have now concluded will open the door to settle all issues within six months to a year.

“What is important is that we managed to implement two important things. First, the sanctions imposed in Iraq’s general budget law on the Kurdistan Region’s share of the national budget have been removed. Second, we have reached agreement on oil export, the Kurdistan Region’s budget, and the Peshmerga forces’ budget.

"The other issues are article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, incentives for Peshmerga forces, and other outstanding issues for which a period of time will be decided for their settlement. There will be talks also about what is owed to the Kurdistan Region from the 2014 budget, which is 16 trillion Iraqi dinars, as determined by the Iraq Ministry of Finance. All these issues cannot be solved in one meeting, more meetings are needed."

While emphasizing that all differences cannot be solved in one visit or meeting, Prime Minister Barzani reiterated that the agreement concluded with Baghdad paves the way for resolving the issues within six months to one year.

Regarding project loans and mortgages for citizens, Prime Minister Barzani reiterated his government’s commitment to continue support for loans and mortgages.

Regarding guarantees the Iraqi Government will not cut the Kurdistan Region’s share of the national budget again, the Prime Minister explained, "There are no guarantees that the Iraqi government will not cut the Kurdistan Region’s share of the budget. We should not forget, however, that if they cut our share, we hold a key to their oil export. We do not, however, wish to talk in such language, we hope this language is over. We wish to open a new page and avoid using the language of threats."

Regarding Peshmerga forces participating with the Iraqi army in liberating ISIS-controlled territory, the Prime Minister explained, "The Peshmerga forces are now fighting on a 1,100 kilometer-long frontline. Iraq’s Prime Minister lauded their efforts. In fighting a global terrorist organization, what the Peshmerga forces are achieving is most significant and serves the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the whole world." 

Regarding the Iraqi government’s commitment to implementing the agreement, the Prime Minister said, "the agreement has been approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers and it has become a decree. The Iraqi government has expressed its support to the agreement. On our part we are implementing the agreement. In Baghdad, we observed willingness. We would like to take every opportunity to reach a solution that serves both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. However, to what extent it will actually be implemented, we will have to see that later."

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (KRG.org) Dara Jalil Khayat, Chairman of the Kurdistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said, “Despite the recent challenges, Kurdistan Region has preserved its economic and trade position. The Kurdistan Region has become an important centre for trade in Iraq and the overall region thanks to its security and stability.”

Dara Khayat told KRG.org that withholding the Kurdistan Region’s share from the federal budget by the former Iraqi government and the terrorist threats “were the two main challenges for Kurdistan Region. These challenges have pushed Kurdistan Region to resort to other plans to protect its trade and economy, taking advantage of its prevailing security and political stability and an active private sector.”

The Government’s support for the investment amid such circumstances "was the best response; and the presence of local investment in active economic sectors has considerably saved the Kurdistan Region’s markets from stagnation and reduced the loss compared to the rest of Iraq"

Due to the recent events in both Iraq and Kurdistan Region, marked by the threats of the Islamic State's terrorist organisation, known as ISIS and withholding Kurdistan Region’s share from the federal budget and failure in paying the civil servants salaries by Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region has faced an economic crisis where the implementation of a large number of projects were suspended.

Dara Khayat considered the agreement reached between KRG and Baghdad as a significant development, which will pave the way for resuming economic activities.

He said that this would lead both Iraq and Kurdistan Region to have a solid presence in the international oil market, despite the fact that oil price has sharply fallen. Mr. Khayat added that "it is expected that Iraq’s oil income will reach over $300 billion in the next five to six years."

Dara Khayat stressed the need for holding trade and economic forums particularly with the countries with solid investment capacity. He said the recent agreements that the Kurdistan Region has signed with Belarus and Hungary have "marked an important initiative towards further similar important steps in the future."   

UAE chamber of commerce forum

Dubai Chamber of Commerce Erbil branch on 18 November, held a forum to discuss the economic situation in Kurdistan and the role of foreign investment particularly from the United Arab Emirates. The forum was attended by the Governor of Erbil, the Chairman of the Kurdistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Head of Italian Consular Office in Erbil, the representative of Germany’s chamber of commerce, and a number of representatives of trade and business community.        

In his speech addressing the forum, the Governor of Erbil stressed on "the return of business activities and the role of the Kurdistan Regional Government's support to such activities with the view to further developing trade and investment in the Kurdistan Region."  

Dara Khayat told the forum “by developing the industry sector, not only the Kurdistan Region but also Iraq and the regional countries can profit from Kurdistan's industrial products, particularly cement and iron."

Regarding tourism sector, he said Kurdistan Region could benefit from this sector and receive four to five million tourists annually by implementing new projects.

The Head of Italian Consular Office in Erbil, Carmelo Ficarra, said due to the security situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and the area, his country had to defer holding two important exhibitions in the Kurdistan Region.

He stressed that his country's private sector is, enthusiastically, looking forward to resume its business activities in the Kurdistan Region. 

Rashid Al-Mansouri, the UAE Consul-General to Kurdistan Region, told the forum that “Kurdistan Region is a secure and stable region and has its own economic position. His country therefore plans to implement major projects in the Kurdistan Region”.

Al-Mansouri said, “Peshmarga forces are the best guarantee for the development of the economic situation in the Kurdistan Region, because by protecting Kurdistan's security and stability, Peshmarga forces encourage other countries to come and invest in the Region. He urged the countries to take advantage of the opportunity made available and bring their projects to the Kurdistan Region."

Baghdad, Iraq (dfr.krg.org) – The Government of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the United Nations agencies held a roundtable meeting with the donor countries and diplomats based in Baghdad to encourage international community to provide support for Iraq’s internally displaced persons (IDP).

Karim Sinjari, Minister of Interior, Ali Sindi, Minister of Planning, and Falah Mustafa, Head of Department of Foreign Relation represented KRG in the meeting, which was chaired by Saleh al-Mutlaq, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Services and attended by Iraq’s ministers of foreign affairs, finance, migration and displacement, representatives of UN agencies as well as 40 ambassadors.

Deputy Prime Mnister Mutlaq said, “Deterioration of security in Iraq, which is mainly caused by the attacks of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), has resulted in the displacement of nearly two million people.”

He added, “Addressing the needs of the IDPs is out of the capacity of Iraq. We are facing harsh financial challenges and sharp decline of oil price has exacerbated the situation. Iraq is in need of $5 billion to address the needs of IDPs and their return to their areas.”

Iraq’s finance minister, Hoshiyar Zebari, gave an overview of the financial crisis facing Iraq and announced that the federal government has agreed to allocate $850 million for the ministry of migration and displacement as part of the 215 budget.

According to the KRG Ministry of Planning and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 47 percent of all Iraq’s 2 million displaced are now in the Kurdistan Region. The rest of the IDPs are spread throughout Iraq having fled conflicts in Anbar, Ninewa, Diyala and Salah al-Din governorates. As people continue to flee the violence, the latest count indicates that some 946,266 Iraqis (157,711 families) have sought sanctuary in the region since the beginning of the year. This represents an increase of 53,526 individuals since 1 September.

KRG minister of Planning discussed the difficulties facing the KRG in addressing the needs of IDPs in the Region. He said, “Hosting of IDPs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is placing a huge burden on the region’s social services, as well as its financial resources, which is becoming unsustainable.”

“This humanitarian emergency is far from over and with the winter months the challenges are becoming greater by the day. The partnership between the Government of Iraq, the KRG and the international community is fundamental to address the response, but this is not enough: fresh funds are now needed to avert this crisis from becoming a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Jacqueline Badcock, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

Commenting on the meeting, Minister Mustafa said, “The large number of IDPs in the Region has stretched our infrastructure and social services to the limit. This was a good opportunity for KRG to be present in Baghdad to address members of international community in highlighting the plight of IDPs.” 

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (KRG.org) – Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, on Monday received Mr. Georg Enzweiler, on the occasion of his appointment as Germany’s new Consul General to the Kurdistan Region. 

Mr. Enzweiler expressed his pleasure to be appointed as his country’s Consul General to Kurdistan Region and hoped to further develop bilateral relations between Germany and the Kurdistan Region. He lauded the Kurdistan government, people and Peshmerga forces for their fight against terrorism and accommodating a large number of internally displaced people and refugees, who fled terrorist violence in other parts of Iraq and took refuge in Kurdistan Region.

Mr. Enzweiler reiterated his country’s humanitarian and military support to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Consul General also reaffirmed his country’s determination to further strengthen the political and economic ties with the Kurdistan Region. He added that, many German companies have actively participated in the Erbil international trade fair, which was held last week in Erbil, saying that Germany will continue to encourage its companies to work in the Kurdistan Region.

Prime Minister Barzani congratulated Mr. Enzweiler for his appointment and reiterated the KRG’s support for the success of the German mission in Kurdistan Region. The Prime Minister valued the humanitarian and military support provided by the German government and hoped that this support will continue in future.

The relation between Erbil and Baghdad, the current political and military situation and the threat of the Islamic State terrorist organization, known as ISIS, on regional security and stability were also among the topics discussed in the meeting.
The Consul General welcomed the breakthrough agreement reached earlier this month between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq and hoped for a successful outcome.  

Both sides agreed on further developing the collaboration and coordination between the Kurdistan Region and Germany, stressing the historical relations between the two peoples.