KRG’s negotiators explain outcome of latest talks with Baghdad to Kurdistan Parliament
28 December - Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami chaired a meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government's negotiating team with Baghdad, led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.
The heads of the parliamentary parties, chairs of the legislative, finance, and energy committees, and members of the KRG negotiating team participated in the meeting.
Deputy Speaker Hawrami said, "The Kurdistan Parliament supports the delegation’s position in working to obtain the Region's financial and other rights, and to resolve the outstanding issues between the two sides."
Deputy Prime Minister Talabani, who heads the KRG’s negotiating team, clearly explained the details of the delegation's talks with the Iraqi Federal Government and said, "Since the start of this ninth KRG cabinet, we have visited Baghdad many times to discuss and negotiate for the sake of both sides."
"We have agreed with the Iraqi government on the 2021 general budget and 12.67% has been set as the Kurdistan Region's budget," he said. "We are now waiting for the agreement to be passed and implemented in the Iraqi parliament."
He also pointed out that in the talks between Erbil and Baghdad, they discussed adhering to Iraq’s Fiscal Deficit Coverage Law, and that Kurdistan Region has expressed its readiness to send 250,000 barrels of oil through Somo.
"The KRG’s aim is to negotiate with the Iraqi government to implement the 2021 budget bill, and we want all the issues to be resolved within the framework of the Constitution," he added.
Deputy Prime Minsiter Talabani said that the Kurdistan Region budget bill is in the final stages of preparation and that in the near future, after the legal steps are completed, it will be sent to the Kurdistan Parliament for debate and approval.
"The KRG is determined in our implementation of the Reform Law," he added.
The chairs of the three Parliament committees and the other MPs asked many questions, which the KRG delegation answered in detail.
Dr. Hawrami thanked the KRG negotiating team for their explanations and asked that the KRG send the Kurdistan Region's budget bill to Parliament and reports on the implementation of the Reform Law soon.
The Deputy Speaker said, "In the next few days, we in the Presidency of Parliament will announce the end of this autumn session of the second year of the fifth term of Parliament. After 3rd January, per Article 8 of Parliament’s rules of procedure we will hold some extraordinary meetings on some of the issues outstanding from the autumn session.”