Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) – The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Federal Government met in Erbil. The Iraqi Federal Government delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Fuad Hussein and included federal ministers of planning, agriculture, industry and trade. The Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, delegation was headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and included Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council Masrour Barzani and a number of ministers and advisers.

Prime Minister Barzani reacalled the Kurdistan Region being a political entity under the Iraqi Constiturion, and deemed that it should be dealt with according to this principle and its constitutional rights be respected. At the same time he reiterated KRG’s commitment to fully cooperate with the Iraqi Federal Government in resolving outstanding issues, especially those affecting the interests of all Iraqi people.

He reaffirmed the KRG’s full support to Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi. He stressed the Kurdistan Region’s hope for progress in the rest of Iraq and expressed the KRG’s willingness to support growth of a national economy that enables improvement in the lives of everyone in the country.

They discussed the outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, stressing the need for a serious dialogue in this regard.

At this meeting in Erbil of the Iraqi Economic Council issues pertaining to the economy, customs, quality control, and other topics were discussed.

They stressed to continue working on the remaining outsanding issues, which need further talks and formation of special committees, particularly those issues which have legal dimentions. In this regard, they demmed necessary that the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament issues resolutions on amending and implementing some Iraqi federal laws in the Kurdistan Region.