Qubad Talabani: Our agreement with the federal government is implementable

Economy 12:04 PM - 2021-03-15

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The Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Qubad Talabani, revealed the latest developments in the agreement with the Iraqi federal government regarding the region’s share in the 2021 budget, while clarifying the issue of the region’s agreement with Turkey on oil.

 

Talabani said in a statement to the Iraqi National News Center: "We have a previous agreement with the Iraqi government, and this agreement was included in the draft budget, after which the entire project was sent to the Iraqi parliament," pointing to "discussions with the Finance Committee in the Council of Representatives in this regard."

 

In December last year, after a two weeks visit to the federal capital Baghdad, Qubad Talabani announced an agreement with the Iraqi Government on the 2021 budget bill.

 

In his statement to the National News Center he added: "To this moment, there is no alternative proposal to the proposal that was included in the draft budget by the federal government, and as a result, the implementation of the law must be carried out by the federal government and the regional government."

 

He continued: "We have also stressed repeatedly to direct the economic and financial situation of the federal government towards the right path, the law must be enforceable," adding: "In this regard, we consider that the text that we agreed upon with the Iraqi government is the best text and that can be implemented by the two governments."

 

And on the accusation of the region of selling its oil to Turkey for a period of 50 years, Talabani asserted, "There is no truth to what is said about selling the region's oil for a period of 50 years to Turkey, and all that exists is an agreement to transport and market oil across Turkish territory, as is the case with the federal government." .

 

He explained: "In the discussions with the Federal Oil Minister, we requested the establishment of a federal marketing company that includes all the collection of components, and to include representatives from the Kurdistan Region in the establishment, in case of marketing the Region’s oil through the SOMO company."

 

The KRG's delegation, headed Qubad Talabani, has made several visits to the Iraqi capital Baghdad to reach an agreement with the federal government on the Kurdistan Region's share in the Iraqi budget bill and resolve the outstanding issues between two sides.

 

Erbil has been heavily reliant on its federal budget share from Baghdad to pay its civil servants and undertake service projects since 2003. In 2014, Baghdad stopped sending the funds fully and on time after oil prices fell, war broke out with the Islamic State (ISIS), and relations between the federal and regional governments soured over Erbil’s decision to export its oil independently.

 

 

 

PUKmedia