Delegation holds talks with Iraqi ministries on the Region’s budget share and financial entitlements
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) high-level negotiating delegation has begun talks in Baghdad with federal ministries as part of the preparation of Iraq’s 2027 federal budget, focusing on securing the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional and financial rights and entitlements.
The delegation met with Faleh al-Sari, Federal Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Planning, to discuss the Region’s participation in the preparation of the draft budget law.
During the meeting, the KRG delegation described the participation of its representatives in the budget preparation process as an important and positive step. The delegation presented the Region’s proposals and stressed that its share and financial entitlements must be secured fairly and in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws.
The federal finance minister welcomed the Region’s participation and emphasized the importance of continued dialogue and coordination. He also assured the delegation that the Federal Ministry of Finance would address the Kurdistan Region’s financial rights and entitlements in accordance with the Constitution and applicable laws.
The delegation later visited the Federal Ministry of Planning, where it held a joint meeting with senior officials, including the undersecretaries of the two ministries of planning and directors general responsible for public investment.
The KRG delegation stressed that the Kurdistan Region is entitled to its share of allocations for investment projects based on the latest population census, as well as allocations for regional and provincial development projects and petrodollar revenues.
It also called for the Region to receive its fair share of international loans, aid and grants. The delegation argued that because the Kurdistan Region shares responsibility for repaying such loans and their interest according to its constitutional share, it should also benefit from the corresponding allocations.
Officials from the Federal Ministry of Planning welcomed the proposals and expressed their readiness to review them during the preparation of the 2027 budget. Both sides agreed to continue technical and legal coordination.
The KRG delegation also met with the Federal Ministry of Oil, in the presence of the federal oil minister, the ministry’s undersecretary and senior officials. The meeting focused on oil-related provisions in the draft 2027 federal budget.
Discussions covered the estimated volume of oil exports, including production from the Kurdistan Region’s oil fields, the projected oil price for the 2027 fiscal year and the volume of oil allocated for domestic consumption.
The KRG delegation reaffirmed its readiness to hand over oil produced in the Region for export to the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), with the oil sold on international markets and the resulting revenues transferred to the federal treasury.
The delegation described the arrangement as an important step toward strengthening cooperation between Erbil and Baghdad and increasing overall federal revenues.
The federal oil minister and ministry officials welcomed the proposals and stressed the importance of continued coordination and joint efforts to establish balanced and practical oil provisions in the 2027 budget while ensuring the continuity of oil production and exports.
Across the meetings, both sides emphasized resolving outstanding issues through dialogue, coordination and adherence to constitutional and legal principles. The discussions aim to establish a clearer framework for financial and economic relations between the KRG and the federal government.
The KRG delegation reiterated the Region’s readiness to fulfill its constitutional and legal obligations and responsibilities. At the same time, it emphasized the federal government’s responsibility to secure the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional, financial and budgetary entitlements, particularly the salaries and financial rights of the Region’s public-sector employees on an equal basis with their counterparts elsewhere in Iraq.