Two high-ranking delegations from the Kurdistan region will visit Baghdad next week to discuss the region’s share in the federal financial budget for 2021, Minister of Planning Dara Rashid has announced.
In a press conference in Erbil on Thursday, Rashid said the governmental delegation is scheduled to visit Erbil on Jan.30 and will be followed by a high-level political party delegation, including representatives of Kurdistan’s major parties.
President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani will head the political delegation as deputy chair of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and will be accompanied by leaders from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, the Goran (Change) Movement and other participating parties if they want, Rashid added.
He affirmed that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) hopes to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government that stipulates the delivery of 250,000 barrels of oil per day with 50 percent of internal imports and crossings.
In return, the KRG expects the federal government to ensure it receives its agreed-upon share in the draft budget, which is 12.6 percent, Rashid noted.
Members of the KRG delegation will meet with political blocs and parliamentary committees, a source close to the Iraqi prime minister told Asharq al-Awsat, noting that there is no disagreement between the federal government and the KRG on the 2021 budget.
He further pointed to a prior agreement in this regard, adding that the region has earlier announced its approval on the draft budget prepared by the federal government.
Regarding details of the visit, Khaled al-Shawani, the KRG minister responsible for dealing with Baghdad, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kurdistan Region’s share in the 2021 federal budget has been agreed upon with the federal government and is included in the draft budget law presented for the House of Representatives.
The delegations will meet with the parliament's finance committee and other budget-linked committees, as well as parliamentary blocs and representatives, Shawani explained.
They will be briefed on the financial situation in the draft budget law and the financial relationship between Baghdad and Erbil, he added.
