ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani continued with high-level meetings on his second day in Baghdad, stressing the need for cooperation as he discussed outstanding issues between the federal and regional governments.
Dilshad Shahab, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region presidency, said the priorities for Barzani’s visit were budget issues and the Region’s financial entitlements. He described the trip as a “success.”
“There is nothing to threaten the civil servants’ salaries. The salary issue will be resolved and this assurance will be delivered to the salaried employees in the near future,” Shahab told reporters in the Iraqi capital.
President Barzani arrived Saturday on his second trip to Baghdad in a month. The visit comes against the backdrop of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s trip to Washington and a deadly drone strike on key oil and gas infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region.
In a meeting with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji, the two discussed the security threats facing Iraq and emphasized the need for cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil.
“Both sides stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination between the relevant parties of the Iraqi Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] in the field of security and to combat security threats and agreed on the need for support of all parties to maintain peace and stability in the country,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Region presidency.
Erbil-Baghdad relations, the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, and appointment of a new speaker of the Iraqi parliament were the topics of discussion in President Barzani’s meeting with acting parliament speaker Muhsin al-Mandalawi.
“Both sides agreed on the significance of support and cooperation from all the political parties to ensure the rights and interests of all of Iraq’s components, and to maintain peace and stability in the country and carrying out the Kurdistan parliament elections with the participation of all parties,” said the presidency in a statement following the meeting.