SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said late on Wednesday that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government are close to finalizing mechanisms needed to implement the federal budget law for 2021.
A KRG delegation led by Talabani visited Baghdad on Sunday to discuss with Iraqi officials mechanisms to implement the budget law.
The delegation held talks with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, ministers and political leaders in Baghdad.
“I just returned to #Erbil from #Baghdad,” Talabani said in a tweet. “We are close to finalizing mechanisms necessary to implement the 2021 budget law.”
“Good will & carrying out the law to the letter will take #GOI & #KRI relations beyond the stalemate of the past year, while assisting our economic recovery,” he added, referring to the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region.
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.
