Baghdad and Erbil to start holding their decisive meetings today

Shafaq News / A source revealed that the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation has begun a series of "decisive" meetings in Baghdad regarding the region's share in the federal financial budget for the current year 2021.

A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Faiq Yazidi, told Shafaq News agency, "the delegation will start its meetings today evening, by meeting with members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee to confirm the previous agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, as well as what is included in the general budget law."

According to the agreement, the region's share is about 12.6% of the budget and the federal government will pay the salaries of the Peshmerga, in return for handing over the region's revenues from the sale of 250 thousand barrels per day of oil extracted from the fields of the region.

Yazidi added, "There will be a series of continuous meetings during the next 24 hours between the regional government delegation and the Parliamentary Finance Committee, in addition to representatives of the federal government to confirm the Kurdistan Region share file in the budget law."

He pointed out that the meetings ensure that the various parties agree on the provisions of the budget draft related to the Kurdistan Region before submitting it to a vote in Parliament.

Kurdistan is suffering from a stifling financial crisis, as Baghdad has cut the region's employees' salaries since last April.