SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani visited Baghdad on Saturday for talks on ways to implement the federal budget law for 2021.
Barzani accompanied by a delegation will meet with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and the head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad, according to the Kurdistan Region presidency.
He will also meet with U.N. envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the Iraqi capital, the Region’s presidency said in a statement.
He will discuss the latest developments in Iraq, relations between Erbil and Baghdad, and joint works for security and stability in Iraq, the statement read.
Falah Mustafa, senior foreign policy advisor to the Region’s president, said in an interview with Sabah newspaper published on Saturday that Barzani would discuss with Iraqi officials ways to implement the budget federal law for 2021.
The Kurdistan Region’s president would also discuss with Iraqi officials coronavirus, vaccination, and economic situation as well as joint security coordination to combat terrorism.
“It is important to visit each other, which leads to strength relations,” Mustafa said in an interview with Sabah newspaper published on Saturday.
“The more there is a common understanding and close cooperation, the greater stability between the two governments,” he added.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives approved the federal budget of 130 trillion Iraqi dinars ($89.65 billion) as the country wrestles with an economic and financial crisis due to low crude prices.
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, which is set at 13.9%.
*This story was updated at 01:36 p.m. EBL time
