ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani will attend a meeting with Iraq’s State Administration Coalition on Sunday evening to discuss the Iraqi delegation’s upcoming visit to Washington as well as wider regional security, political and economic issues, the Region's presidency spokesperson said.
Spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Presidency Dilshad Shahab told Rudaw's Payam Sarbast that President Barzani was formally invited to the meeting by the coalition’s secretary general and will participate alongside Iraq’s four presidencies.
"Nechirvan Barzani, in his capacity as the President of the Kurdistan Region and alongside Iraq’s four presidencies, has been officially invited by the coalition," Shahab said, in addition to "the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Head of the Supreme Judicial Council, and the Prime Minister…along with the majority of Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni political parties.”
The State Administration Coalition is Iraq’s main political alliance, bringing together major Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Christian, and Turkmen parties. Formed in late 2022 to facilitate the formation of the former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government, it has since served as a forum for discussing major national political, security, and economic matters.
The meeting comes ahead of a planned visit to Washington by an Iraqi delegation led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ahead of convenings with US President Donald Trump.
"The main theme of the meeting will be Zaidi’s visit and the agenda he will carry to the United States," Shahab said. "There are a series of shared issues to be discussed, particularly regarding the new regional situation and security, political, and economic matters."
Shahab said President Barzani’s participation alongside Iraq’s federal leadership reflects the constitutional role of the Kurdistan Region presidency in relations between Erbil and Baghdad.
"This is a correct step toward balanced engagement between the federal and Kurdistan Region authorities. It is a proper implementation of federal practice because, by law, the President of the Kurdistan Region serves as the coordinator between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region," he said.
"The President’s presence - distinct from the participation of political parties - strengthens the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional status in establishing an effective program for governing the country," Shahab added.
The spokesperson noted delayed salaries of civil servants working in the Kurdistan Region as a key point President Barzani would address during his meetings in Baghdad.
"As in the past, his excellency the President will exert serious efforts in today's meetings, whether in the formal session or other side-line meetings," Shahab said.
"The rights and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region’s employees are always a permanent fixture on the President’s agenda in all his meetings," he added.
This comes as Kurdistan Region civil servants continue to face salary delays from the federal government amid ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over the transfer of non-oil revenues, with June salaries still awaiting disbursement.
