ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday called for permanent solutions, within the framework of the Iraqi constitution, to longstanding disputes between Erbil and Baghdad - particularly those over federal budget allocations, public sector salaries and the oil and gas file.
Speaking at the Slemani Summit, an annual economic gathering in the Kurdistan Region's eastern Sulaimani province, President Barzani said “political disagreements” between the federal and regional governments “must not create obstacles for trade and investment.”
“We must reach a clear constitutional framework with the federal government regarding financial issues, customs and taxes,” he affirmed.
The remarks come a day after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday rejected Baghdad's decision to set the Kurdistan Region's population share at 12.68 percent, a figure that would directly determine its allocation under Iraq's 2027 federal budget.
President Barzani tied the budget dispute to the recurring salary crisis facing public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region, underlining that “permanent constitutional solutions must be devised for the issues of budget, salaries, oil and gas, and powers, in a way that protects the rights of the Kurdistan Region, the rights of Iraq, and all Iraqi citizens.”
Erbil and Baghdad have been at odds over the Kurdistan Region's federal budget share since 2014, when a dispute over the KRG's independent oil exports to Turkey escalated into a protracted political and financial standoff. The row has repeatedly disrupted salary payments to the Region's public sector employees, who have faced delays and shortfalls for years.
“The goal is not for Erbil to triumph over Baghdad, or for Baghdad to triumph over Erbil; rather, the goal is for Iraq to succeed and for the constitution to prevail,” President Barzani said, stressing that “the strength of all of us lies in a strong federal Iraq; our collective strength lies in the Kurdistan Region becoming strong within the framework of Iraq.”
“We do not want an Iraq where each component resorts to force, numbers, or its own position to protect itself, but rather an Iraq where we all resort to the constitution,” he said, affirming, “We want a state in which Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians, Yazidis, and all Iraqi citizens feel that their rights do not change with the change of governments or the balance of power, but rather that their rights are protected by the constitution.”
The Kurdish leader further reiterated his call for disputes to be addressed, adding that the path to resolving them “is clear; it consists of the constitution, dialogue, and national partnership in this country,” he said.
The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) winning 39 seats and the rival PUK securing 23 seats in the 100-seat legislature.
With no party achieving an absolute majority, the two sides have engaged in government formation talks that have since stalled over disagreements on governance structures and key posts.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Slemani Summit, President Barzani said talks on forming the Region’s next cabinet were progressing. “Today, I can say we are heading in the right direction toward forming the government, but I do not know when,” he remarked, detailing that talks had advanced across several levels, including between the KRG prime minister and his deputy, security officials and the two parties’ political bureaus.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit, President Barzani said talks on forming the Kurdistan Region's next cabinet were “heading in the right direction … but I do not know when [they will conclude],” he said, adding that discussions had advanced on several levels, including between the KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his Deputy Qubad Talabani, among security officials and between the two parties' political bureaus.
In February, President Barzani signed a decree formalizing the status of Regional Command 1 (Unit 80) and Regional Command 2 (Unit 70), which are affiliated with the KDP and the PUK, respectively. The two forces, which together number more than 100,000 troops, had operated outside the authority of the Region’s Peshmerga ministry.
President Barzani on Thursday affirmed the unification of “all Peshmerga forces” whom he said “have been brought together under the umbrella of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, and we will officially announce this in the coming days," he said.
The Slemani Summit brings together representatives from the banking, real estate, industry, trade and infrastructure sectors to discuss sustainable economic development in the Kurdistan Region.
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