Parliamentary Finance discusses with an American delegation the file of contracts for foreign oil companies operating in Kurdistan, 6 FEB

 Parliamentary Finance discusses with an American delegation the file of contracts for foreign oil companies operating in Kurdistan

Economy News – Baghdad

The Finance Committee in the House of Representatives discussed, on Wednesday, with a US delegation, the file of contracts for foreign oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The media office of the head of the committee said in a statement, seen by “Economy News”, that “the chairman of the Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Attwani, received the delegation of the American Embassy headed by Julie Jones, the economic adviser of the embassy, and Chris Torres, adviser of the file of the Iraqi Council of Representatives in the political section.”

The statement added that “the meeting discussed the details of the amendment of Article 12 of the Federal General Budget Law related to the production and export of oil, in addition to the financial challenges facing the country and the preparations for the preparation and approval of the 2025 budget tables.”

He continued, “The meeting discussed the file of contracts of foreign oil companies operating in the region, and some details related to the production and export of oil, within the framework of the amendment of the General Budget Law, which the House of Representatives voted recently, as a first step to resolve the oil disputes between Baghdad and Erbil and in line with the Iraqi Constitution.”

Al-Atwani stressed, according to the statement, “the need for the region to commit to pay its financial dues to the central government in exchange for receiving its dues, including the salaries of employees and financing of projects, to end financial disputes,” reiterating the keenness of the Finance Committee to “end all disputes and stop the smuggling of oil; because of its negative impact on the financial stability of the country.”

The statement explained that “the meeting witnessed a discussion of the timing of the approval of the budget schedules for 2025; with the aim of launching projects according to the specified schedule with emphasis on increasing non-oil revenues, reducing spending on non-essential projects, investing in service and educational projects and supporting the private sector.”