Summary of committees’ recent meetings – 20th June 2019

A brief summary of Kurdistan Parliament’s committees’ recent meetings and activities:

Relations and Kurdish Diaspora Committee

19 June – The committee congratulated Ms. Herro Mustafa (Herro Qadir Muhammadamin) on her appointment as United States Ambassador to Bulgaria. Ms. Muhammadamin is a member of the Kurdish Diaspora who is a US citizen. The committee wished Ambassador Muhammadamin success in her posting, and hoped that the US Administration’s confidence in a government official of Kurdish origin can help to strengthen relations between the US and Kurdistan Region.

Culture, Civil Society, Sports and Youth Committee

19 June - The committee met with a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), headed by Mr. Akram Jamo. Mr. Jamo congratulated the MPs on their appointments to the committee and asked them to coordinate more with NGOs in Kurdistan. He also explained the problems faced by NGOs in terms of the organizational system. Mr. Luqman Wardy (PUK), the head of the committee, promised to follow up on the delegations’ concerns and complaints, and to work closely with them.

Energy, Natural Resources, Commerce and Industry Committee

19 June – The committee held their regular weekly meeting. They discussed oil income in the region, the sum given to the Ministry of Finance for government employees’ salaries, and the existence of illegal oil refineries in Kurdistan.  They also discussed the Iraqi Government regulation on branches of foreign companies (Iraq Regulation No. 2 of 2017), and the possibility of implementing the regulation in the Kurdistan Region as well. They decided to form a subcommittee to follow up on illegal oil refineries in the Kurdistan Region.