Nechirvan Barzani Travels to Baghdad for State Administration Coalition Meeting
Due today
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani to attend federal government coalition meeting in Baghdad
ERBIL — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani will travel to Baghdad to attend the State Administration Coalition meeting scheduled for this evening. The visit is expected to focus on addressing financial disputes between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government, particularly the issue of delayed salary payments.
Barzani is also set to hold a series of meetings on Monday with Iraq’s four presidencies and various political factions to address these critical issues. “President Nechirvan Barzani will participate in the State Administration coalition meeting and engage in separate discussions with political parties during his visit,” said Dilshad Shahab, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Presidency on Friday.
“These meetings are part of a broader effort to ensure the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements and constitutional rights,” Shahab added.
Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is also expected to attend the State Administration coalition meeting. Both parties are part of the governing coalition and hold various ministerial portfolios.
In recent months, tensions have continued between the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and Iraq’s federal government in Baghdad over delayed salary payments to KRG civil servants. The KRG has accused Baghdad of violating constitutional rights by failing to disburse the Region’s full financial entitlements, leading to significant salary shortfalls.
Public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region have not received their 2024 December salaries, exacerbating financial hardships and leading to widespread protests. In Sulaymaniyah, strikes have intensified in recent months, impacting essential services such as hospitals, schools, and other government institutions.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani led an urgent meeting in Erbil to address critical issues concerning the rights and financial standing of the Kurdish people, as reported by the KRG.
Despite the KRG’s call for Kurdish factions in the Iraqi parliament to participate, New Generation Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Union and the Justice Group announced a decision to boycott the meeting.
The council reached several key decisions to address pressing financial issues for 2025. First, it mandated collaboration between the KRG and the Kurdistan Region’s representatives in Baghdad to ensure the full payment of salaries for public sector employees for all twelve months of the year. A delegation was formed to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister to convey the KRG’s message, emphasizing that the Kurdistan Region must be treated as a federal and constitutional entity within Iraq and that salary payments must be resolved as a priority.
The KRG’s Ministry of Finance and Economy was tasked with actively participating in the review of the Kurdistan Region’s share of salaries, operating expenditures, investment projects, and regional development budgets.
Finally, the Council called for immediate preparations for the Federal Budget Law, emphasizing that the Kurdistan Region’s share must be allocated based on the 2024 census and fair constitutional standards.
President Nechirvan Barzani made several visits to Baghdad to engage in discussions with Iraqi leaders and participate in meetings of the State Administration Coalition last year. On April 6, 2024, President Barzani met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and other political figures to address political, security, and economic issues, emphasizing the importance of implementing agreements that led to the formation of the federal government. Later that month, on April 27, 2024, President Barzani returned to Baghdad for further talks with Prime Minister Sudani and SAC leaders.