ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation is set to visit Baghdad on Saturday afternoon to continue its discussions on the financial issues between Erbil and the federal government, Kurdistan24 has learned.
The delegation is headed by KRG Minister of Finance and Economy Awat Sheik Janab and will stay in the Iraqi capital for a few days.
The Kurdish share in the federal budget as well as amending the three-year budget are part of the meetings’ agenda along with the hydrocarbon bill that is currently being prepared by the federal government.
The upcoming delegation is the first of its kind in 2024.
Although the Kurdish region has transferred the agreed-upon amount, Baghdad has paid far less than what it had initially committed itself to, according to KRG officials.
Since its adoption in early June, KRG diplomats have alleged the budget has not been implemented properly by the government. Instead of paying the Kurdish share, they allege Baghdad has released allowances to Erbil to cover public salaries. The KRG has previously said the 500 billion dinars (over $384 million) provided by Baghdad thus far is not sufficient to pay the salaries.
Hailed as one of the country’s biggest budgets, the state expenditures were set at 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars ($153 billion), with a deficit of more than 64 trillion dinars (over $48 billion).
The Kurdistan Region’s share in the federal budget is set at 12.67 percent, amounting to more than $12 billion annually.
The management of oil and gas has been among the thorny issues between Erbil and Baghdad for over a decade, leading to the suspension of the Region’s share in previous federal budgets.
We’re ready, we’re almost there… everything is good… Mauricio is MIA (good thing)…movement in Reno…no clue bout Zurich…things happening in Hong Kong…get ready we are that close…we Patriots will not STOP!!!
Article: "Dollar exchange rates in local markets recorded a decline today...this list" The dollar exchange rate is dropping like an anvil in the middle of the pacific ocean.
We are in the waiting phase. Simply in a waiting phase. That's all. There isn't, this needs to be done, that needs to be done, That T crossed, That I dotted. No. We are in a waiting phase.
Question: "When the rate is changed IYO will the Iraqi citizens be exchanging their 3-zero notes in country before the rate is on Forex?" Iraqi citizens don't care about Forex. You care about Forex. Because that's one of the vehicles/platforms that's going to float the currency and go up in value internationally. But inside a dinar is a dinar. Whatever the rate is that they establish, it could be $0.10, it could be a $1.00...that is what they will use inside of their country not outside.
Shafaq News / US President Joe Biden, on Saturday, informed Congress the details of the strike carried out by the army in Baghdad last Thursday, which resulted in the killing of Mushtaq Taleb Al-Saidi, the assistant commander of the Baghdad Belt of operations in the Popular Mobilization, nicknamed “Abu Taqwa”, in a development that may have an impact on the relationship between Washington and Baghdad.
In a letter to the Speaker of the House, Biden said his decision to launch a military strike in Iraq came “as part of his responsibility to protect U.S. citizens,” stressing a willingness to “take further action, as necessary, to address further threats or attacks.”
“I have directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect U.S. citizens at home and abroad, and to promote national security, and his external interests, in accordance with my constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and as President of the country,” the letter said.
He added that his country “has taken this necessary and proportionate measure in accordance with international law,” considering that the United States “has exercised its inherent right to self-defence, as stipulated in Article 51 of the UN Charter.”
Kurdish politician Sardar Mustafa confirmed, on Saturday (January 6, 2024), that the Kurdistan region is part of Iraq and is affected by any security or political event in Iraq and the region.
Mustafa said in an interview with Baghdad today that “the region cannot support the exit of the international coalition from Iraq at the present time, as the coalition provides military and financial assistance to the Peshmerga forces.”
He added that “there are security concerns in the region that the withdrawal of the coalition may lead to an escalation of attacks against the region, and the increased risk of extremist groups, including ISIS.”
Mustafa pointed out that “any collapse of the security situation means this time the region entering the arena of war, this time is different from the previous times that Kurdistan was moving away from the arena of conflict, this time things seem different, and the region will be a party to the conflict, whether he wanted or father.”
Baghdad announced, on Friday (January 5, 2024), the formation of a bilateral committee with the United States, whose task is to determine arrangements for the termination of the mission of the international coalition to combat ISIS, led by Washington, in Iraq.
“We are in the process of determining the date for the start of the dialogue, through the bilateral committee that was formed to determine the arrangements for the end of this presence, a commitment that the government will not retract, and will not abandon everything that would complete national sovereignty over the land, sky and waters of Iraq,” Prime Minister, Mohammed Shiaaa Al-Sudani, said.
Al-Sudani stressed “the firm and principled position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence ended.”
There are approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, as part of Washington’s efforts to prevent the return of ISIS, which occupied large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The formation of the committee comes a day after a drone targeted the headquarters of the “Al-Nujaba Movement”, which is part of the “Popular Mobilization” factions, which resulted in the martyrdom of the military official of the movement, Talib Ali Al-Saidi, nicknamed “Abu Taqwa.” Other elements were also martyred after the strike, according to those close to Al-Nujaba.
In a statement to Al-Hurra, a military official in the Pentagon explained that at 12 noon Iraq time, the US forces took a necessary and proportionate measure against Abu Taqwa, an official in the Nujaba movement, who was “involved in planning and launching attacks against American forces.”
The official added that the airstrike killed Abu Taqwa and another element.
“The air strike was launched in self-defense, did not harm civilians and no infrastructure or facility was hit,” he continued.
A U.S. official has previously confirmed that the United States “continues to take action to protect its forces in Iraq and Syria, and by addressing the threats it faces.”
The developments followed more than 110 attacks by U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.
On the other hand, Al-Sudani said, on Friday, that “the most serious incidents are repeated more than once in Iraq through the international coalition forces carrying out attacks against the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization,” adding: “We have repeatedly stressed that in the event of a breach or abuse by any Iraqi party, or if Iraqi law is violated, the Iraqi government is the only party that has to follow up on the reas for these violations.”