SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The federal budget for 2021 will resolve the suspending issues between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, a government spokesman said on Tuesday (December 15).
Spokesman of the Iraqi government Hassan Nadhim said the Kurdistan Region had shown readiness to abide by the loan law.
Nadhim further said the loan law would be a “base” for further agreements between both sides.
The law commits the Kurdistan Region to hand over non-oil revenues and an amount of oil that SOMO indicates to the federal government in exchange for an amount of money as payment for the Region’s public servants.
“The federal budget for 2021 will be a solution to the issues between the central government and the Region, and other demands,” Nadhim said in a press conference.
He added that the Iraqi Council of Ministers will hold a meeting on the budget bill for fiscal year 2021 in the near future.
A delegation from the Kurdistan Region led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani visited Baghdad on December 9 to resolve issues with Baghdad. Despite a series of meetings with Iraqi officials, Erbil and Baghdad have yet to reach a final agreement on their issues.
Talabani told reporters on Monday that talks with the federal government’s officials would continue until an agreement is reached.
“I call on parties to be patient. We are here to secure rights of the Kurdistan Region and public servants, and I am certain we will get to a successful result,” Talabani said, reiterating that the Kurdistan Region is ready to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad in exchange for the Region’s share of the federal budget.
On Saturday, the KRG delegation and Iraqi parliament’s financial committee held a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
Lawmaker Hoshyar Abdulla said the meeting was “positive”.
Kadhimi’s office said the Iraqi and Kurdish officials discussed mechanisms for the implementation of the fiscal deficit financing law, also known as the loan law.
