Iranian Consul General offers to mediate in KRG-Baghdad budget dispute

ERBIL, December 6 — Iran’s Consul General to Erbil Nasrullah Rashnoodi recently held talks with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab and conveyed Tehran’s commitment to act as a mediator in talks with Baghdad to address ongoing financial disputes.

According to a readout of the meeting, Rashnoodi and Janab discussed topics including employee salaries, the Kurdistan Region’s relations with Baghdad, and delayed financial entitlements of companies operating in the region. Minister Janab reportedly highlighted the economic and financial challenges stemming from political issues between the Kurdistan Region and the central government, and emphasized the need to address the problems faced by Iranian companies and salaried employees in the region.

Minister Janab further expressed a desire to ensure equitable treatment for the Kurdistan Region employees, aligning their salaries with those of counterparts in other Iraqi governorates. Seeking resolution through diplomatic channels, he called on the Iranian Consulate General to use its relations in facilitating a resolution.

Rashnoodi pledged Iranian support, stating, “[We] will use our capabilities and relationships to resolve the problems between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad on the issues of budget and salaries as soon as possible.”

The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved three remittance payments to the KRG totaling 700 billion dinars on September 17, 2023. Only two installments have been received to date. Public employees in the region also have yet to receive salaries for the months of September, October, and November.