Optimism about Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Baghdad and expectations of resolving important files
Optimism about Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Baghdad and expectations of resolving important files
2025-01-12 04:25
Shafaq News/ A representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party confirmed on Sunday that the visit of the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, comes to resolve the issue of salaries of the region’s employees and amend one of the articles of the federal budget law, while a representative of the State of Law Coalition expected that Barzani’s meetings with the Coordination Framework would lead to resolving the issue of salaries.
Member of the Parliamentary Oil Committee, MP for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Sabah Subhi, told Shafaq News Agency, “The Kurdistan Region delegation, headed by the President of the Region, Nechirvan Barzani, will meet with the Prime Ministers, the Parliament, and a number of political leaders upon its arrival in Baghdad.”
He explained that “the meetings will discuss employees’ salaries and amending Article 12 of the Federal Budget Law. They will also discuss re-exporting oil via the Turkish Ceyhan pipeline and the dues of companies operating in the region.”
In turn, the representative of the State of Law, Baqir Al-Saadi, told Shafaq News Agency, “The meeting of the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, with the Coordination Framework in Baghdad is expected to lead to a solution to the salary crisis.”
He added that “the meeting will also discuss the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, is expected to arrive in Baghdad on Sunday evening to participate in the “State Administration” meeting, carrying with him files on the salaries of the region’s employees, the budget, oil exports, the upcoming elections, and others.
It is noteworthy that observers confirmed to Shafaq News Agency, yesterday, Saturday, that this visit may be the “last chance” for Baghdad, and if permanent solutions are not reached for the outstanding issues, the Kurds may decide to withdraw from the Iraqi political process.
Citizens in the Kurdistan Region are living a semi-paralyzed life, due to the expansion of the general strike in government departments, schools, universities and traffic departments, especially in Sulaymaniyah, because they have not received salaries for months.
For years, the issue of salaries in the Kurdistan Region has not been resolved, and it has remained suspended between tension and attraction with the federal government. Every year, this controversy is renewed with the approval of the federal budget, which sets conditions on the region in exchange for receiving its share of it, the most prominent of which is the delivery of oil revenues. However, two years ago, after the region stopped exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the federal government converted employees’ salaries into “advances” given to the region.
In February 2024, the Federal Supreme Court obliged the Baghdad government to pay the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees directly, without sending them to the regional government, after months of delay in delivering salaries.
Earlier today, the Kurdistan Regional Government, ministers and representatives of the region in Baghdad demanded that the federal government guarantee full salaries for the year 2025 without any reduction.
shafaq.com
