US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman explained the $160 million program will allow Washington "to show our support for helping the KRG meet the needs of the people of Kurdistan."
"This program helps the government of Kurdistan better manage its money, better determine how services are provided and monitor whether the services are being delivered," said Silliman at the joint press conference in Erbil on Monday.
The IGPA project is funded by USAID. The $160 million is the five-year total for the entire project across Iraq. Initially, $22.4 million has been has been reserved to support the Kurdistan Region, though the final amount the Region will receive over the full five years will depend on future Congress budgets.
Silliman explained the program is designed to help the government of Kurdistan better manage its money, deliver, and monitor those services.
"The IGPA represents the ongoing efforts by the United States to assist the people of Kurdistan," he added.
US State Department official John Lister will direct the USAID program. He called the implementation of the KRG biometric system an "effective" step, adding that "we intend to build on [such steps] in the future."
"It will be implemented throughout Iraq and focus on the following areas: providing assistance to the national, to the regional, and provincial governments of Iraq to improve service delivery outcomes, training civil servants on the best practices on public financial management, and involving civil society in decisions about service delivery to make sure of fair and equitable distribution,” said Lister.
Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said he hopes "to build on already strong ties that exist between us," noting that US aid to the KRG dates back to humanitarian and military assistance starting in 1991.
He expressed that such a program "supports ongoing reform" priorities in the KRG such as the biometric registration system and reform in general.
"Also it will provide support to improving the standard and quality of services that we provide to our citizens to reduce the level of bureaucracy..." said Talabani.
The program will also focus on "decentralization administratively and fiscally" in the KRG.
The deputy PM said that he reiterated yesterday, when inaugurating a number of service projects, that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi should start sending the salaries and re-opening of the airports in order for a "new page" be opened Erbil-Baghdad relations.
"The question of salaries is our priority as the KRG and that of the people of Kurdistan," Talabani said. "The KRG shouldered providing the biometric payroll lists.... auditing by the Iraqi government committees carried out at the government ministries and departments in Erbil, Sulaimani and at other places," Qubad Talabani said.
"I believe there were no flaws found and no excuse left for any further delay in the payment of salaries," Talabani added.
"The KRG is not active in the disputed areas ... they are controlled by the ISF," said Talabani. "This is why we've asked for the implementation of Article 140."
Lister elaborated that safety was a concern for diplomats implementing such projects in the disputed areas of Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Saladin provinces.
"The security circumstances and so forth didn't allow us to work, to implement a program like IGPA there," said Lister.
The US State Department previously has said such areas, according to the Iraqi constitution, "remain disputed."
The IGPA program has opened offices in Baghdad, Basra, and now in Erbil.
Last updated at 8:44 p.m.
