President Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Saturday afternoon for meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and Iraqi political and government leaders, including leaders of the Shiite-led State Administration Coalition that backs the current government.
“The meeting saw the discussion of a number of issues and filed related to the political, security, and economic situation, and the government’s notable steps and procedures in improving the economic and living reality of citizens in various part of Iraq in light of clear stability and development,” said a statement from the coalition.
During the meeting, Sudani’s upcoming visit to the United States was also discussed, and the coalition leaders expressed their support for the visit “in what the Iraqi delegation headed by the prime minister will present in a framework that is in the interest of Iraq,” the statement said.
Dilshad Shahab, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Presidency, told Rudaw on Thursday that the discussions primarily focused on key issues such as the Region's allocation in the federal budget, the disbursement of salaries for Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees, and the resumption of Kurdish oil exports that were suspended a year ago, as well as touching on “broken promises” by the State Administration Coalition.
On Wednesday, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced that Baghdad and Erbil had found an “appropriate” solution for the salary payments. Baghdad has been sending funds to Erbil to cover salaries, but the KRG has said the amount is not enough to meet its full payroll.
Paying Kurdistan Region’s civil servant salaries and restarting oil exports are among the main issues currently occupying Erbil and Baghdad.
