Korek Telecom's issues with Baghdad to solve, pending PM Sudani's approval: CEO

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -  Sirwan Barzani, the CEO of the Erbil-based Korek Telecom, on Wednesday said the company's issues with the federal government are set to be resolved, pending a final approval from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani.

 

"Everything has been completed and the dossier has been sent to the office of the prime minister of Iraq. We are waiting for a response," Barzani said, adding the company's abundant issues have been "politicized."

 

Korek subscribers across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have been unable to make or receive calls, or send and receive messages from both domestic and international carriers for over a year. The disruption stemmed from a November 2023 decision by Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) to block Korek’s communications over its unpaid financial obligations.

 

A month earlier, the CMC had warned Korek that its operating license had expired and that it had failed to pay “large sums” of owed money, meaning the license would not be renewed.

 

In mid-February, the CMC cut off internet services for the company, due to what it described was non-compliance with paying outstanding debts and continued violations." CEO Barzani had described the decision as politically-motivated.

 

Korek condemned the CMC’s actions as “illegal” at the time, expressing its willingness to resolve the issues in accordance with the law.

 

In early March, Zahra al-Bajari, head of the parliament’s transport and communications committee said  Korek Telecom owes Iraq's CMC a total of two trillion dinars (around $1.5 billion) in licensing fees and outstanding debts,

 

Barzani told Rudaw on Thursday that all legal procedures followed up by a committee established by Sudani to resolve the matter at hand, have been completed.