Shafaq News/ Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) lawmaker Sabah Sobhi assured onSunday that the visit of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani toBaghdad, aims to finalize the issue of regional government employees' salariesand amend a provision in the federal budget law.
Meanwhile, lawmaker from the Coordination Framework, Baqer al-Saadi,predicted that Barzani’s meetings with the Coordination Framework would lead toa resolution of the salary issue.
In a statement to Shafaq News, Sobhi explained that Barzani’s delegationwill meet upon arrival in Baghdad with the heads of the government, parliament,and other key political leaders. The discussions will focus on the salaries ofgovernment employees, amending Article 12 of the federal budget law, as well asaddressing the resumption of oil exports through the Turkish Ceyhan pipelineand the dues of operating companies in the region.
Al-Saadi, for his part, noted that in addition to the salary issue,Barzani’s meeting with the Coordination Framework would also address theupcoming parliamentary elections.
Barzani is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Sunday evening to participatein the "state administration" meeting, bringing with him key issuesincluding employee salaries, the federal budget, oil exports, and upcomingelections.
Observers who spoke to Shafaq News suggested that this visit might be"the last opportunity" for Baghdad to resolve the ongoing disputes.Failure to reach permanent solutions could result in the Kurds"withdrawing from the Iraqi political process."
Meanwhile, citizens in the Kurdistan Region are facing significantdisruption to daily life, with a general strike affecting government offices,schools, universities, and traffic departments, particularly in Sulaymaniyah,due to the months-long delay in salary payments.
For years, the salary issue in the Kurdistan Region has remained unresolved,caught in a tug-of-war with the federal government. Each year, the controversyresurfaces with the passage of the federal budget, which sets conditions on theregion’s share, most notably the delivery of oil revenues.
However, after the region halted oil exports through the Turkish Ceyhan porttwo years ago, the federal government began providing the region with"loans" to cover employee salaries.
In February 2024, the Federal Supreme Court ordered the Baghdad governmentto pay the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees directly, rather than sendingthe funds to the regional government, after months of delays in salarydistribution.
Earlier today, the Kurdistan Region government, its ministers, andrepresentatives in Baghdad called on the federal government to guarantee thefull payment of 2025 salaries without any deductions.