ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Saturday called Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to thank them for their efforts towards the agreement to resume exporting Kurdish oil after a more than two-and-a-half year halt.
Sudani also called Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to thank them for their contributions..
"He expressed his gratitude for the position of the leaders and political forces of the Kurdistan Region that played a role in reaching a final agreement to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region and hand over the revenue to the central treasury," Sudani's office said.
A statement from the Kurdistan Region presidency said Sudani “conveyed his gratitude to President Nechirvan Barzani for his unwavering support and ongoing efforts at every stage to foster understanding and agreement between the Iraqi Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding the re-exportation of oil from the Kurdistan Region.”
Sudani said the agreement was a "significant step forward in addressing the issues between Erbil and Baghdad, which is expected to positively influence the country’s economic stability,” according to the presidency’s statement.
President Barzani "thanked Prime Minister al-Sudani for his contributions and efforts in achieving the agreement, emphasizing that it paves the way for new opportunities,” it added.
After more than two years of negotiations, the KRG, Iraqi federal government and international oil companies reached an agreement earlier this week to resume exporting Kurdish oil to Turkey’s Ceyhan Port.
The exports through the pipeline were suspended in March 2023, when a Paris-based arbitration court found that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline deal with Baghdad by allowing Erbil to independently export oil beginning in 2014.
Sudani also called Prime Minister Barzani to express his gratitude "for reaching this important agreement” and the Kurdish premier thanked Sudani for his efforts "in removing obstacles to its implementation," according to a KRG statement.
Both leaders "described it as a significant achievement that serves the interests of all Iraqi citizens,” it said.
They also “agreed that the 2026 federal budget should include the Kurdistan Region's rightful share," the KRG statement read.
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