Monitor

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani extends ‘special thanks’ to Iraqi PM for passage of budget amendments

ERBIL — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani expressed appreciation for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s role yesterday’s parliamentary vote amending the federal budget bill.

“We welcome the Iraqi Parliament’s vote on the approval of the federal budget law and commend the Council of Representatives and everyone who participated in its preparation and ratification,” Barzani said in a statement Monday.

He extended “special thanks and appreciation” to Sudani, saying the prime minister had “worked sincerely and with a patriotic spirit alongside us from the very beginning to resolve the issues related to the budget, salaries, and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.”.

The Iraqi Parliament passed amendments to the federal budget law for fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025 on Sunday, clearing the way for a potential resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.

Lawmaker Narmin Maarouf, a member of Iraq’s parliamentary finance committee, told 964media that the amendments were approved during the session. “According to the amendments, Kurdistan Region’s oil exports through Ceyhan port are set to resume, but sales will be conducted through [Iraq’s] State Oil Marketing Organization,” Maarouf said.

Full statement from President Nechirvan Barzani’s office:

We welcome the Iraqi Parliament’s vote on the approval of the federal budget law and commend the Council of Representatives and everyone who participated in its preparation and ratification.

We extend our special thanks and appreciation to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who from the very beginning has worked sincerely and with a patriotic spirit alongside us from the very beginning to resolve the issues related to the budget, salaries, and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region. We also commend the negotiating delegations and the relevant parties from both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government of Iraq.

This is a constructive and promising step that benefits all of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. We hope it will be the beginning of resolving other outstanding issues and that we will soon receive reassuring news of a final solution to the matter of salaries and financial entitlements in the Kurdistan Region.

We reaffirm our commitment to continuing efforts to resolve all disputes through dialogue and mutual understanding.