SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said on Wednesday the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) intention is to resolve all issues between the Region and Baghdad.
Talabani met with German Ambassador to Iraq Ole Diehl in Erbil to discuss relations between the Kurdistan Region and Germany and ways to strengthen them, his office said in a statement.
Both sides stressed the importance of developing relations between Germany and the Kurdistan Region in all fields, the statement read.
Talabani called on Germany to play more role in assisting the Kurdistan Region to develop the fields of agriculture and industry as well as reform in the governance system, according to the statement.
Regarding relations between Baghdad and Erbil, the deputy premier said the KRG would send a delegation to Baghdad in the near future for talks on the federal budget law for 2021.
“The KRG’s intention is to resolve all issues between the Region and Baghdad,” Talabani was quoted as saying in the statement.
“The KRG has expressed readiness to implement the [budget] law, and a KRG delegation is expected to visit Baghdad in the near future to solve all issues and technical problems in front of implementing the law,” he continued.
The Iraqi parliament approved the federal budget of 130 trillion Iraqi dinars ($89.65 billion) on March 31.
After months of wrangling, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the central government reached an agreement on thorny issues, including oil and non-oil revenues.
Under the 2021 budget law, the Kurdistan Region will be committed to produce 460,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
After deducting expenses for production operations in the Region, transport of oil and the domestic consumption of crude oil, the KRG must hand over to Baghdad revenues generated from regional oil exports of 250,000 bpd, according to Iraq’s SOMO pricing, as well as 50 percent of non-oil revenue.
The Kurdistan Region, in return, will receive its share of the budget.
Regarding elections in Iraq, the deputy prime minister called on Germany and the international community to help Iraq in holding a “clean and pure” election, scheduled for October 10.
