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Consensus between Erbil and Baghdad on the 2021 budget


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calendar.png 02/12/2020
 
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Baghdad / Al-Mawred News

Today, Wednesday, the Council of Ministers in the Kurdistan region decided to send a delegation to Baghdad to defend the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan region.

The media office of the President of the Kurdistan government, Masrour Barzani, stated that "the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region held its regular session headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani."

The Prime Minister indicated at the beginning of the meeting, that "there is no party that cares about the lives and livelihood of citizens as much as the regional government, which has done everything in its power to secure the salaries of the Kurdistan region."

Barzani stressed, "The region's financial dues are legitimate rights for the people of Kurdistan, and we will never give them up, and we will continue our talks with the federal government in order to guarantee our constitutional rights."

He added, "We were in constant communication these days with the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and the Iraqi Council of Ministers, and we received a promise from them to resolve the issue of salaries within the next few days, but if the region’s salaries did not arrive from Baghdad on time and for whatever reason, then the regional government Kurdistan will fill the deficit by borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrive, after which the borrowing amount will be paid from the sums sent from Baghdad.

After discussion and discussion, the Prime Minister directed, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, according to the statement, "to start disbursing the salaries of October, starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, with a funding rate of 79 percent."

The council decided, "to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as possible, with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan region."

In the second paragraph of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister presented the "draft review and organization of the fees charged in return for the services provided, and called for the expediting of sending data on expenditures and revenues of all ministries to the Supreme Committee with the aim of reorganizing them."

In the last paragraph of the meeting, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kwestan Muhammad presented, "a project on the allowances for people with disabilities and special needs, and the Council of Ministers voted on it unanimously."

 

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The Kurdistan government decides to send a delegation to Baghdad: We got a promise from the prime minister
 

Baghdad - People  

The Council of Ministers in the Kurdistan region decided, on Wednesday, to send a delegation to the capital, Baghdad, to solve the crisis.  

The regional government stated in a statement, which "people" received a copy of, (December 2, 2020), that "the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region held, today, its regular session headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani."  


The Prime Minister indicated at the beginning of the meeting, according to the statement that "there is no party that cares about the lives and livelihood of citizens as much as the regional government, which has done everything in its power to secure the salaries of the Kurdistan region," stressing that "the financial dues of the region are legitimate rights for the people of Kurdistan, and we will not give up Absolutely about it, and we will continue our talks with the federal government in order to guarantee our constitutional rights. "  


Barzani explained, "These days we were in constant contact with the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and the Iraqi Council of Ministers, and we received a promise from them to solve the salary issue within the next few days, but if the region’s salaries did not arrive from Baghdad on time and for whatever reason, the government The Kurdistan region will fill the deficit by borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrive, after which the borrowing amount will be repaid from the sums sent from Baghdad.  


Barzani directed, to "start disbursing salaries for the month of October (October) starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, with a funding rate of 79 percent." The cabinet also decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as possible, "with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan region," according to the statement.  

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Kurdistan demands 17% of Iraq's budget ... and borrows $ 355 million to meet the deficit

Kurdistan demands 17% of Iraq's budget ... and borrows $ 355 million to meet the deficit
Side of the meeting
 

 

Mubasher: Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region, said that if the region’s salaries did not arrive from Baghdad on time, the regional government would fill the deficit by borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrived.

This came during the regular session of the Council, today, Wednesday, headed by Masrour Barzani and in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, according to the council statement.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister indicated that there is no party that cares about the lives and livelihood of citizens as much as the regional government, which has done everything in its power to secure the salaries of the Kurdistan Region.

Barzani affirmed: "The region's financial dues are legitimate rights for the people of Kurdistan, and we will never give them up, and we will continue our talks with the federal government in order to guarantee our constitutional rights."

The Prime Minister added, "We were in constant contact with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazimi and the Iraqi Council of Ministers, and we received a promise from them to solve the salary issue within the next few days."

And the President of the Kurdistan government added: "If the salaries of the region do not arrive from Baghdad on time and for any reason, the Kurdistan Regional Government will fill the deficit by borrowing until the arrival of the salaries allocated from Baghdad, after which the borrowing amount will be repaid from the sums sent from Baghdad."

The Kurdistan Regional Government also confirmed that a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government will visit Baghdad soon to discuss the outstanding problems, noting that the Kurdistan Regional Government will borrow $ 355 million to meet the deficit.

"The Kurdistan Regional Government will borrow $ 355 million to meet the deficit until the funds arrive from Baghdad," said Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman Jotyar Adel, in a press conference.

He added, "The territorial government was able to provide 400 million dollars from imports for the distribution of salaries," noting that "the regional government will do everything it has to get the region's dues and employees in particular."

He continued, "The region asked the center for a share of 17 percent of the budget, but this will be through dialogue," noting that "the problem with Baghdad is not just a matter of salaries," noting that "the central government has promised to solve the issue of regional employees' salaries."

After discussion and discussion, the Prime Minister directed to start disbursing the salaries of October, starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, with a funding rate of 79 percent, and the Cabinet decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as possible, with the aim of defense About the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region.

In the second paragraph of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister presented a draft review and organization of the fees charged in exchange for the services provided, and called for the expediting of sending data on expenditures and revenues of all ministries to the Supreme Committee with the aim of reorganizing them.

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Kurdish Delegation to visit Baghdad

bc00b06bea24e6f4c5d660750a6e33bd?s=26&r=Author: Ahad8   42

On Thursday, Kurdish media reported that a high-ranking delegation from the Kurdistan region headed by the Minister of Finance, Awat Sheikh Janab, went to the capital, Baghdad, to negotiate with the federal government.
The media reported, “The delegation also includes the official of the Coordination and Follow-up Department in the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region, Abd al-Hakim Khusraw, as well as the Minister of the Territory for Negotiation Affairs with Baghdad.

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Barzani sends a message to Kazemi: You have cut off all imports of the region

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The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, on Thursday (December 3, 2020), sent a letter to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi regarding the region's financial dues, while noting that Baghdad had cut all the region's oil and non-oil imports.


Barzani said in the text of the message received by  IQ NEWS that, "After the formation of the Al-Kazemi government, the Kurdistan region agreed to the letter of Finance Minister Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi, after which intensive meetings were held between the two sides, which resulted in the regional government’s approval of all the items put forward to reach a sustainable agreement on the project The federal budget. "


He added, "The text of the agreement to settle outstanding financial matters between the two sides, which was confirmed by the General Secretariat of the Federal Council of Ministers in its letter No. This amount was determined on the basis of an equation based on the federal government's estimates of oil imports from the region’s oil production and other region’s imports.


He continued, "This means that the federal government has deducted all oil and non-oil imports of the region from its actual entitlements from the federal general budget, thus negating the justifications for accusing the region of not committing to the delivery of oil and non-oil revenues," noting that "despite this agreement, the Kurdistan region No amount has been received for the months (May, June, July, October) for the year 2020, in addition to not paying the peshmerga dues and salaries despite their inclusion in the allocations of the Ministry of Defense. "


Barzani stressed that "the method of passing the fiscal deficit financing law for the year 2020 is a violation of the principles of balance, partnership and consensus," stressing that "the Kurdistan region was and still is fully prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations, and in return it deserves to be paid to the region in full."


Barzani stated that "the fixed position of the regional government and its vision to reach an agreement based on the provisions of the constitution in light of the draft Federal Budget Law for the year 2021, which we have previously explained according to our books numbered (1839) on 5/10/2020, and (379) on 18 / 10/2020, and our special message to your country in May 2020, and at the present time we believe that it is necessary to instruct the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay the region's benefits for the months referred to above, according to what was stated in the joint agreement on 8/15/2020.


The Prime Minister had confirmed during the last meeting of the Council of Ministers that he was in continuous contact with Al-Kazemi and the Federal Cabinet, and they had made promises to solve the issue of the financial rights of the region's citizens in the next few days.

 

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The delegation of the Kurdistan region begins talks today in Baghdad on financial problems

874243-cdb6afc1-a9f0-4edd-9038-5c5fcf0a1
Baghdad / NINA / The delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government begins today talks in Baghdad on financial problems.

The deputy of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Shirwan Mirza, said in a press statement: "The delegation, headed by Minister of Finance Awat Sheikh Janab, and which includes the Regional Minister for Federal Government Affairs Khaled Shawani and the official of the Coordination and Follow-up Department in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Abdul Hakim Khusraw, will start discussions today with officials in Baghdad, with the aim of securing financial dues and salaries for Kurdistan Region employees.

The delegation of the Kurdistan region arrived in Baghdad yesterday evening ./ End 2
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The President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in which he spoke about the constitutional means to resolve the outstanding disputes, emphasizing the principles of partnership, consensus and balance, and the region's permanent readiness to settle those problems.

In his message, the Prime Minister referred to the initiatives undertaken by the Kurdistan region since the ninth ministerial cabinet was formed to settle disputes by sending official delegations to Baghdad, during the previous government headed by Adel Abdul Mahdi and the current government headed by Al-Kazemi.

He stressed in his message that, after the formation of the Al-Kazemi government, the Kurdistan Region agreed to the letter of Finance Minister Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi, after which intensive meetings were held between the two sides, which resulted in the regional government’s approval of all the items on the table to reach a sustainable agreement on the draft federal budget.

The letter also dealt with the agreement on the item on settling pending financial matters between the two sides, which was confirmed by the General Secretariat of the Federal Council of Ministers in its letter No. (13229) dated 15/8/2020.

The text of the message stated, "The aforementioned agreement stipulated that the Federal Ministry of Finance should finance the region at an amount of 320 billion dinars per month to pay some of the region’s expenditures. This amount was determined on the basis of an equation based on the federal government's estimates of oil imports from the region’s oil production and other regional imports. ".

In his message, the Prime Minister said: "This means that the federal government has deducted all oil and non-oil imports of the region from its actual entitlements from the federal budget, thus negating the justifications for accusing the region of not committing to the delivery of oil and non-oil revenues."

He continued: "Despite this agreement, the Kurdistan Region did not receive any amount for the months (May, June, July, October) for the year 2020, in addition to not disbursing the dues and salaries of the Peshmerga despite its inclusion in the allocations of the Ministry of Defense."

The Prime Minister emphasized that the method of passing the Fiscal Deficit Financing Law for 2020 is a violation of the principles of balance, partnership and consensus, and stressed that the Kurdistan Region was and still is fully prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations, and in return it deserves to be paid to the region in full.

He said, "We would like to confirm the firm's position and vision of the regional government to reach an agreement based on the provisions of the constitution in light of the draft Federal Budget Law for the year 2021, which we previously explained according to our books numbered (1839) on 5/10/2020, and (379) in 10/18/2020, and our special message to your country in May 2020, and at the present time we believe that it is necessary to instruct the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay the region's benefits for the months referred to above, according to what was stated in the joint agreement on 8/15/2020.

The Prime Minister had confirmed during the last meeting of the Council of Ministers that he had been in continuous contact with Al-Kazemi and the Federal Cabinet, and they had made promises to solve the issue of the financial rights of the region's citizens in the past few days.

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Ministry of Finance building
  

 money and business


Economy News - Baghdad

The reporter of the Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, announced, on Saturday, that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation reached an agreement regarding the Kurdistan Region’s share in the 2021 budget.

Al-Saffar said in a statement reported by Rudaw and seen by Al-Iqtisad News, “The Kurdistan Regional Government’s delegation reached an agreement with the federal government regarding the share of the Kurdistan Region in the next budget for 2021, which is the same form of the agreement that was concluded during the era of my government, Adel Abdul Mahdi. And Mustafa Al-Kazemi. " 

A high-ranking delegation from the Kurdistan Region headed by the Minister of Finance, Awat Sheikh Janab, went to Baghdad, with the intention of negotiating with the Iraqi government about  sending the 320 billion dinars previously agreed upon with Baghdad, as well as securing financial dues for the Kurdistan Region in the 2021 budget, as well as oil exports And revenues from border crossings.

On November 26, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, sent a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, in which he indicated that the Kurdistan Region, despite the agreement concluded between the two sides, did not receive any amount for the months of May, June, July and October of 2020 "without legal justification." In addition to not disbursing the dues and salaries of the Peshmerga, stressing that the method of passing the fiscal deficit financing law for the year 2020 by the Iraqi parliament, without the participation of the Kurdish blocs, "is a violation of the principles of balance, partnership and consensus on which the constitutional focus has been focused."

On Wednesday (December 2, 2020), the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as "with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region," stressing that "financial dues are a legitimate right that we will never give up."

He also pointed out that communication is continuing with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and the Iraqi Council of Ministers, explaining that they have received “a promise from them to resolve the issue of salaries within the next few days, but if the region’s salaries do not arrive from Baghdad on time and for whatever reason, the Kurdistan Regional Government The deficit will be filled through borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrive, after which the borrowing amount will be repaid from the sums sent from Baghdad.

The Prime Minister also directed to start disbursing the salaries of October, starting from Thursday, December 3, with a funding rate of 79 percent. The Cabinet also decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as possible, "with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region."

On August 15, Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement to send the federal government 320 billion dinars per month to the Kurdistan Region until the budget law is voted on, for a period of three months.

However, on November 12, the Iraqi parliament approved the law on financing the fiscal deficit despite the withdrawal of the representatives of the Kurdish blocs in protest to the article stipulating that the Kurdistan Region’s share of the total actual spending (current expenditures and investment project expenditures) be determined after excluding sovereign expenditures "on the condition that the Kurdistan Region be committed By paying the amounts of oil exported from the region and in the quantities specified by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company SOMO exclusively and the federal non-oil revenues.

Iraq is going through a stifling financial crisis as a result of the collapse of oil prices, the Corona pandemic, and the repercussions of the unstable political situation in the country, amid the failure to approve the current year’s budget.

The Kurdistan Regional Government needs about 895 billion dinars to secure the salaries of its employees in normal conditions, but with 18% of these salaries deducted, the government needs about 754 billion dinars for salaries.

The dispute between the federal government and the regional government continues over the number of employees in Kurdistan. The first says that their number is estimated at 600 thousand employees, but the second insists that they are 1.4 million employees.

 
 
Number of observations 22   Date of addendum 12/05/2020
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Reporter of the Federal Financial Commission of NRT: The Kurdish negotiating delegation reached a preliminary agreement with Baghdad

Dec 5, 2020

Expressing his astonishment at

 

The reporter of the Financial Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Ahmed Al-Saffar, said on Saturday that the Kurdish negotiating delegation reached a preliminary agreement with the federal government in Baghdad, and some paragraphs may be added to it in the coming days.


Al-Saffar added, in a statement to NRT , (December 5, 2020), that "the federal government dealt with the region’s delegation on the basis of the 2019 budget, which provides for the delivery of 250,000 barrels of oil per day to the region, in addition to half of the border crossing revenues."


He stressed that "the region's share, according to the law, will reach 12.67 percent."


Al-Saffar expressed his "astonishment at the parliamentarians’ stances in support of the rights of the citizens of Kurdistan Region within the council, which will soon change on television and in the media. "

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Baghdad and Erbil reach an agreement regarding the share of Kurdistan in the 2021 budget

874409-98d5382f-5030-4c86-91a6-252f64cf0
Baghdad / NINA / The representative of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, announced that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation reached an agreement regarding the region’s share in the 2021 budget

. “The Kurdistan Regional Government’s delegation reached an agreement with the Iraqi government on The share of the Kurdistan region in the next budget for 2021, which is in the same format as the agreement concluded during the government of Adel Abdul Mahdi and Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

A delegation from the Kurdistan region headed by the Minister of Finance, Awat Sheikh Janab, arrived in Baghdad yesterday with the intention of negotiating with the Iraqi government. / End 8
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The decision of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, announced that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation reached an agreement regarding the region's share in the budget for next year (2021).

 

Rudaw Media Network quoted Al-Saffar as saying that the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation reached an agreement with the Iraqi government regarding the share of the Kurdistan region in the next budget for 2021, which is in the same format as the agreement concluded during the government of Adel Abdul Mahdi and Mustafa Al-Kazemi.
 
 

He added that the Kurdistan region was and still is fully prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations and in return "deserves to pay the region all its financial rights," stressing "the need to instruct the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay the region's dues for these months."

He pointed out that "communication is continuing with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and the Iraqi Council of Ministers," explaining that they have received "a promise from them to resolve the issue of salaries within the next few days, but if the region’s salaries do not arrive from Baghdad on time and for whatever reason, then the regional government Kurdistan will fill the deficit by borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrive, after which the borrowing amount will be repaid from the sums sent from Baghdad.
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Barzani's party announces an agreement with the federal government on the financial crisis
 

Baghdad - people  

The Kurdistan Democratic Party announced, on Saturday, a preliminary agreement regarding the 2021 budget.  

"The agreement includes the delivery of the region's oil and half of the imports of the border crossings to the federal government," said a member of the House of Representatives for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Dana Jaza, to the official news agency and followed by "People," (December 5, 2020).  

"The agreement includes exporting oil through the (SOMO) company only, and the region’s share in the budget is 12.67 percent," he added.  

On Thursday, Rabaz Hamlan, assistant to the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government for financial affairs, said that the region is ready to hand over its oil file to Baghdad in full in exchange for securing the salaries of employees and the accumulated dues of the oil companies.  

"The second option on resolving differences is to deliver 250,000 barrels of oil and pay companies' dues from the rest and from 50% of the imports of border crossings," Hamlan said in a televised interview with "People".     

He added, "The dispute between Baghdad and Erbil is now revolving around the number of employees, as Baghdad believes that their number is 682 thousand employees, while our number is one million and 252 thousand employees."    

And Ali Hama Saleh, deputy for the Change Movement in the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region, revealed, on Thursday, data from an auditing company related to the agreement to export the oil of the Kurdistan region.  

The deputy said in a statement that "People" received a copy, (January 3, 2020), that "the data of the Deloitte audit company show that the Turkish energy company obtained 494 million dollars from the region's oil in 2019 according to the agreement for a period of 50 years."      

He added, "Car and Rosneft got $ 644 million, which means $ 1 billion and 138 million dollars went for the transportation of oil from the Kurdistan region within one year."      

  

On Wednesday, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Bloc in the Kurdistan Parliament, Umid Khoshnaw, attacked the parties who denied their knowledge of the 50-year contract to sell the region's oil through Turkey, asking them to ask about their representatives about the content of the contract, "and there is no need to mislead the public opinion after that."  

"The contract was signed during the seventh cabin by the Oil and Gas Council for the region formed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Deputy Prime Minister Imad Ahmed (the National Union) and Minister of Natural Resources Ashti," Khoshnaw said in a statement. Hawrami, in addition to the late Minister Bayez Talabani (the National Union) and a number of other members of the two parties, wondering, "Oh people of Kurdistan, do these belong to which party?"        

The head of the Democrat bloc stated that "a joint government delegation from the Democrat and the Union visited Turkey and conducted an update on the agreement. Information was provided to the heads of the Kurdish parties, and you can ask them a question."        

This statement came days after Pavel Talabani's statement that the National Union had no knowledge of the 15-year agreement for the sale of oil through Turkey and the announcement by the President of the region, Nechirvan Barzani, that the agreement would not be an obstacle to the agreement with the federal government in Baghdad to market oil through SOMO.        

  

In a later development, spokesman for the Regional Government Council, Gutiar Adel, said during a press conference, today, Wednesday, that "the agreement provides for the marketing and export of oil through Turkey only and does not mean the sale of oil on time for the period mentioned."  

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51 minutes ago, yota691 said:
 
9107.jpg
Ministry of Finance building
  

 money and business


Economy News - Baghdad

The reporter of the Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, announced, on Saturday, that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation reached an agreement regarding the Kurdistan Region’s share in the 2021 budget.

Al-Saffar said in a statement reported by Rudaw and seen by Al-Iqtisad News, “The Kurdistan Regional Government’s delegation reached an agreement with the federal government regarding the share of the Kurdistan Region in the next budget for 2021, which is the same form of the agreement that was concluded during the era of my government, Adel Abdul Mahdi. And Mustafa Al-Kazemi. " 

A high-ranking delegation from the Kurdistan Region headed by the Minister of Finance, Awat Sheikh Janab, went to Baghdad, with the intention of negotiating with the Iraqi government about  sending the 320 billion dinars previously agreed upon with Baghdad, as well as securing financial dues for the Kurdistan Region in the 2021 budget, as well as oil exports And revenues from border crossings.

On November 26, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, sent a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, in which he indicated that the Kurdistan Region, despite the agreement concluded between the two sides, did not receive any amount for the months of May, June, July and October of 2020 "without legal justification." In addition to not disbursing the dues and salaries of the Peshmerga, stressing that the method of passing the fiscal deficit financing law for the year 2020 by the Iraqi parliament, without the participation of the Kurdish blocs, "is a violation of the principles of balance, partnership and consensus on which the constitutional focus has been focused."

On Wednesday (December 2, 2020), the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as "with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region," stressing that "financial dues are a legitimate right that we will never give up."

He also pointed out that communication is continuing with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and the Iraqi Council of Ministers, explaining that they have received “a promise from them to resolve the issue of salaries within the next few days, but if the region’s salaries do not arrive from Baghdad on time and for whatever reason, the Kurdistan Regional Government The deficit will be filled through borrowing until the salaries allocated from Baghdad arrive, after which the borrowing amount will be repaid from the sums sent from Baghdad.

The Prime Minister also directed to start disbursing the salaries of October, starting from Thursday, December 3, with a funding rate of 79 percent. The Cabinet also decided to send a government delegation to Baghdad as soon as possible, "with the aim of defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region."

On August 15, Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement to send the federal government 320 billion dinars per month to the Kurdistan Region until the budget law is voted on, for a period of three months.

However, on November 12, the Iraqi parliament approved the law on financing the fiscal deficit despite the withdrawal of the representatives of the Kurdish blocs in protest to the article stipulating that the Kurdistan Region’s share of the total actual spending (current expenditures and investment project expenditures) be determined after excluding sovereign expenditures "on the condition that the Kurdistan Region be committed By paying the amounts of oil exported from the region and in the quantities specified by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company SOMO exclusively and the federal non-oil revenues.

Iraq is going through a stifling financial crisis as a result of the collapse of oil prices, the Corona pandemic, and the repercussions of the unstable political situation in the country, amid the failure to approve the current year’s budget.

The Kurdistan Regional Government needs about 895 billion dinars to secure the salaries of its employees in normal conditions, but with 18% of these salaries deducted, the government needs about 754 billion dinars for salaries.

The dispute between the federal government and the regional government continues over the number of employees in Kurdistan. The first says that their number is estimated at 600 thousand employees, but the second insists that they are 1.4 million employees.

 
 
Number of observations 22   Date of addendum 12/05/2020

Just amazing

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  •  
 2020-12-05 08:26
 

Shafaq News / The Coordinator of the Media Room in the Change Movement, Dalir Abdul-Khaleq announced on Saturday that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s delegation, which is currently visiting Baghdad, has reached a technical agreement with the federal government regarding salaries and the share of assessors in the 2021 budget.

 

Abdul Khaleq said in a press conference held today, that the delegation headed by the region's Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab reached an agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance from a technical point of view regarding financing the salaries of employees in the region, and Kurdistan's share in the budget next year.

 

He explained that "what remains needs administrative procedures by the Council of Ministers in the region in order for this agreement to become a text and be installed in the 2021 federal budget, and at the same time the Iraqi parliament votes on it."

 

Abdul Khaleq, who is close to the region’s finance minister, added, "This news is a source of pleasure, but we believe that this stage needs a high-ranking political delegation to go to Baghdad to solve all the disputes and outstanding issues."

 

On Thursday, a delegation arrived from Erbil, headed by the region's finance minister, Awat Sheikh Janab, and the membership of Khaled Shawani, the minister of regional affairs, and Abdul Hakim Khusraw, Director General of Coordination and Follow-up in the Council of Ministers.

 

On Thursday, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, sent a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, asking him to abide by the agreement concluded between them last August, which includes sending Baghdad to the amount of 320 billion dinars per month to the region.

 

Barzani said that the Kurdistan Region did not receive any amount for the months of May, June, July, and October of 2020, in addition to not disbursing the dues and salaries of the Peshmerga despite its inclusion in the allocations of the Ministry of Defense.

 

He pointed out that this amount was agreed upon after the federal government deducted all oil and non-oil imports of the region from its actual entitlements from the federal general budget.

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6 minutes ago, Longtimelurker said:

Does this complete the HCL?

No the above is for Budget law 2021. 2020 Iraq didn't pass a Budget law, that why the Kurds are so up in arms with the salaries. The below need to be brought to the House and Voted on, as long the Center and the Region fulfill it obligations on 250,000 on oil, and ports and custom revenue are in sync with what agree upon ..IMO per the articles

 

 

Final touches on the amendment of the law of the national oil company

 

 

 

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 BasNews   2020/12/05 - 13:48   Kurdistan 

ERBIL - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has sent a detailed letter to his Iraqi counterpart, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, on the Erbil's financial dues and share from the federal budget.

PM Barzani reminded that: "Since its formation, the 9th ministerial cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government has undertaken rigorous efforts to identify areas of cooperation with the federal government, to strengthen our relationship, and to propose solutions to unresolved issues. On many occasions, this cabinet has made clear its desire for a mutually beneficial partnership with the federal government, one that serves the people on the basis of our shared principles of collaboration, consensus, and equity, as enshrined in the constitution. My cabinet has from the start made clear its willingness to work with the federal government. Our first high profile delegation visited Baghdad on 16 July 2019, six days after my election and the formation of my government."

He further explained that a Joint Higher Committee, consisting of representatives from both sides, was formed by Erbil and Baghdad after a visit by a high-level delegation from the KRG's ninth cabinet on 16 July, 2019.

"The committee was headed by Dr. Thamer Al-Ghadban, the federal government’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil. It was to his committee that the regional government presented a working paper that outlined its proposals for the resolution of outstanding disputes with the federal government. These steps were discussed at the first meeting of the Joint Higher Committee, in Erbil on 25 July 2019. It was recorded in the minutes of that meeting that the region was prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations in exchange for guarantees that it would receive the entirety of its rights and financial dues," Barzani said in his official letter to Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Erbil has approached this working relationship "in a position and serious manner," while it has presented a number of proposals throughout its deliberations with Iraqi government representatives, Barzani noted, adding that "it was in this same spirit of cooperation, and within the same framework, that a delegation from the regional government, headed by the deputy prime minister, conducted several further meetings in Baghdad."

"As a result of these intensive meetings, a mutual agreement was reached with the federal government regarding the federal budget law for the year 2020. In this agreement, the federal government committed to providing the regional government with its due financial share of the federal budget, from total actual expenditures (current and projected expenditures) after deducting sovereign expenditures," the letter continued.

"Those calculations amounted to 12,577,087,022,000 (twelve trillion five hundred seventy-seven billion 87 million and 22 thousand) dinars (an average of 857 million dollars per month) owed to the regional government, in addition to the cost of transporting oil from the region’s fields, which accounted for an additional 29 million dollars per month. The agreement stipulated that the region’s oil and financial obligations be included in the draft budget. However, the political situation at the time and the resignation of Dr. Adil Adbulmahdi, along with many of his government, prevented the submission of this agreed joint draft of the 2020 federal budget."

Below is the PM Barzani's detailed letter sent to his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa al-Kadhimi:

Letter from the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government to the Prime Minister of the Federal Government regarding the financial dues of the Kurdistan Region.

Your Excellency Mr. Prime Minister

Dear Mr. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi,

I trust this letter finds you well and in good health.
As Your Excellency is aware, since its formation the 9th ministerial cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government has undertaken rigorous efforts to identify areas of cooperation with the federal government, to strengthen our relationship, and to propose solutions to unresolved issues. On many occasions, this cabinet has made clear its desire for a mutually beneficial partnership with the federal government, one that serves the people on the basis of our shared principles of collaboration, consensus, and equity, as enshrined in the constitution.

My cabinet has from the start made clear its willingness to work with the federal government. Our first high profile delegation visited Baghdad on 16 July 2019, six days after my election and the formation of my government.

That visit resulted in the formation of a Joint Higher Committee with representation from both sides. The committee was headed by Dr. Thamer Al-Ghadban, the federal government’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil. It was to his committee that the regional government presented a working paper that outlined its proposals for the resolution of outstanding disputes with the federal government. These steps were discussed at the first meeting of the Joint Higher Committee, in Erbil on 25 July 2019. It was recorded in the minutes of that meeting that the region was prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations in exchange for guarantees that it would receive the entirety of its rights and financial dues.

We have approached this working relationship in a positive and serious manner, and several proposals have been presented throughout our deliberations with federal government representatives. It was in this same spirit of cooperation, and within the same framework, that a delegation from the regional government, headed by the deputy prime minister, conducted several further meetings in Baghdad.

As a result of these intensive meetings, a mutual agreement was reached with the federal government regarding the federal budget law for the year 2020. In this agreement, the federal government committed to providing the regional government with its due financial share of the federal budget, from total actual expenditures (current and projected expenditures) after deducting sovereign expenditures.

Those calculations amounted to 12,577,087,022,000 (twelve trillion five hundred seventy-seven billion 87 million and 22 thousand) dinars (an average of 857 million dollars per month) owed to the regional government, in addition to the cost of transporting oil from the region’s fields, which accounted for an additional 29 million dollars per month. The agreement stipulated that the region’s oil and financial obligations be included in the draft budget.
However, the political situation at the time and the resignation of Dr. Adil Adbulmahdi, along with many of his government, prevented the submission of this agreed joint draft of the 2020 federal budget.

Following the formation of the new government under Your Excellency’s leadership, the regional government agreed to the official letter of His Excellency the federal Minister of Finance Dr. Ali Abdulameer Alawi, numbered (802), on 19 May 2020, which was in accordance with the official letter of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the region numbered (201) and dated 19 May 2020. This was followed by extensive meetings between representatives of the federal government and the region, relying on the federal Financial Administrative Law to guide the discussion and provide a starting point for any agreement.

Based on the aforementioned, special provisions were agreed to settle unresolved financial disputes, as confirmed by the General Secretariat of the Federal Council of Ministers in its official letter numbered (13229) on 15 August 2020. The letter specifically outlined measures to address these issues (attached is a copy of the clauses agreed upon) with assurances that the federal government’s negotiating team would intensify their efforts and hold any necessary discussions with the representatives of the region to set the foundational framework for a long-term agreement, and implement it within draft federal budget law. Furthermore, the region agreed to all the provisions, as evidenced by the official letter of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Regional Government, numbered (379), on 18 October 2020.

The agreement stipulated “it is upon the federal Ministry of Finance to fund the region with 320 billion dinars monthly to partially pay for the expenses of the region, and this amount has been specified on the basis of a mathematical equation built upon the federal government’s estimates for the region’s revenues from oil production and other revenues, and this means that the federal government deducted all of the region’s oil revenues and non-oil revenues from its actual entitlements within the federal budget.”

Despite this agreement, the regional government has yet to receive funds for the months of May, June, July, and October for the year 2020, without legal justification and addition to the failure to pay the dues and the salaries of the Peshmerga Forces, whose financial entitlements are listed within the framework of Ministry of Defense’s scheduled sovereign expenditures included in the annual budget law.

Your Excellency,

The way the Fiscal Deficit Act of 2020 was passed and ratified by the Council of Representatives, without the consent of Kurdistani representatives in the federal parliament, is considered a violation of the principles of equity, cooperation, and consensus which the constitution is meant to safeguard. Despite all of this, the region is nonetheless dutiful and remains fully prepared to fulfill its oil and financial obligations to the federal government, provided the federal government is committed to disbursing the full financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.

Based upon the aforementioned, the regional government reaffirms its position and its vision for an agreement with the federal government based on the principles of the constitution, and ahead of the 2021 federal budget bill. That position has been reiterated many times: in our meetings, in the decisions of the region’s Council of Ministers, in official correspondence numbered (1839) on 5 October 2020 (379) and 18 October 2020, and in the letter of May 2020 from the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government to His Excellency the federal Prime Minister.
I look forward to an opportunity to discuss a better way forward with you.

Sincerely,

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SULAIMANI — Organizer of the Change Movement's (Gorran) Journalism Room Dler Abdulkhaliq said on Saturday (November 5) that the finance ministries of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and federal government have reached a technical agreement regarding the Region's budget share in the 2021 Federal Budget Law.

During a press conference, Abdulkhaliq said that the federal Council of Ministers will draft a text detailing the agreement and send it to the Council of Representatives for approval as a part of the ongoing legislative negotiations over the budget.

“A high-level political delegation from the Kurdistan Region should visit Baghdad to embed the financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region’s people” into the legislation, he said.  “Over the coming days, a tripartite meeting between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the Change Movement (Gorran) will occur.”

Rapporteur of the Council of Representatives’ Finance Committee Ahmad Safar told NRT Digital Media that the agreement involves the KRG transferring 250,000 oil barrels per day (bpd) to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) along with all of income collected at Kurdistan Region’s international  border crossings in return for a 12.67 percent budget share.

The terms outlined largely line up with those in the 2019 Federal Budget Law with added conditions related to the border and customs income.

On Wednesday and Thursday, thousands of civil servants, teachers, and local residents protested in Sulaimani's main bazaar against the KRG's handling of deteriorating economic conditions and its failure to pay public sector salaries in full or on time. The second day of protests was broken up by the security forces, who wounded 25 peoplewhen they deployed tear gas and rubber bullets.

“People have the right to ask for what they deserve. We as a political party should provide them with a better life,” Gorran's Abdulkhaliq said of the protests. He also called on the security forces to deal with protesters in a “civil manner.”

In an interview with NRT's 90 Minutes program, Gorran MP in the Council of Representatives Kawa Muhammad argued that the KRG has not been serious about resolving the outstanding issues with the federal government related to oil and the budget.

“The KRG is just killing time only to distribute a salary [by 2021]… the KRG should send a strong delegation to Baghdad,” Muhamamd said, adding that he wanted to see additional details about the deal.

“The meeting of the KRG delegation [with the federal government] was confidential. Nobody knows whether they have made an agreement,” he said. 

In April, the federal government cut off all budget transfers to the KRG after the latter failed to send any of the 250,000 barrels of oil per day that it is required to under the 2019 federal budget law. The cut-off caused heavy burden on the cash-strapped KRG to pay its civil servants on time and full over the months.

The two sides reached a temporary agreement in early August where Baghdad would send 320 billion Iraqi dinars, in return for bringing customs procedures at the Region’s international border crossings under federal control.

KRG paid the last salary on October 15 with eighteen percent cut, while salaries paid in July and August were slashed by twenty-one percent, while it has started paying belated October salary by twenty-one cuts.

(NRT Digital Media)

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Understandings between the center and the region regarding the budget of {2021}, and the latter awaits its maturities
  
{Baghdad: Al Furat News} The Kurdistan Regional Government confirmed, on Saturday, that good understandings have been reached between the Kurdistan region and the federal government regarding the draft budget for 2021, indicating that it is awaiting the arrival of part of its dues from Baghdad for the month of October

The regional government stated in a statement received by the Euphrates News Agency that "the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, met today, Saturday, December 5, 2020, with the delegation of the regional government negotiating with the federal government." Noting that "in the meeting, they discussed the latest developments regarding the course of talks with the federal government regarding salaries and financial rights for the region."
And he praised "the efforts made by the negotiating delegation to reach an agreement with Baghdad to secure salaries and financial dues for the Kurdistan region."
He continued, "In the meeting it was stressed that the Kurdistan Regional Government will not waive its financial and constitutional rights and dues, and it is awaiting the arrival of part of its dues for the month of October by the federal government, which it has not yet sent, just as it has not sent the dues of the months (May, June and July), which are Rights and entitlements for the people of Kurdistan. "
Regarding the draft federal budget bill for the year 2021, the government affirmed that "good understandings have been reached between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government, but the talks are still continuing with the aim of reaching a final agreement within the framework of the principles that have been agreed upon."

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The "Kurdistan Democratic Party" reveals the details of a preliminary agreement regarding the 2021 budget

The "Kurdistan Democratic Party" reveals the details of a preliminary agreement regarding the 2021 budget
Kurdistan
 

 

Mubasher: The Kurdistan Democratic Party announced today, Saturday, a preliminary agreement regarding the 2021 budget.

Dana Jaza, a member of Parliament for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, told the Iraqi News Agency, "INA," today, that the agreement includes the delivery of the region's oil and half of the imports of the border crossings to the federal government.

"The agreement includes exporting oil through the (SOMO) company only, and the region’s share in the budget is 12.67 percent," he added.

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