KRG delegation holds talks in Baghdad over salaries, oil costs and constitutional financial entitlements
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has sent a delegation to Baghdad for intensive talks with the Iraqi federal government over the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements and its share of the 2027 federal budget.
Iraq’s proposed 2027 budget is expected to exceed 200 trillion dinars, with a reported deficit of 65 trillion dinars. The draft is expected to be submitted to the Iraqi parliament in the coming days.
One of the main issues under discussion is the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget. Kurdish representatives are seeking a share of at least 14.14%, based on Iraq’s general census results, alongside fair accounting for the costs of oil production and transportation.
The budget discussions also include the status of more than one million contract workers expected to be transferred to permanent employment. According to constitutional experts cited in the debate, approximately 140,000 of these positions should be allocated to the Kurdistan Region. However, it remains unclear whether Baghdad will accept this demand.
The KRG delegation includes senior officials from the Council of Ministers, the Department of Coordination and Follow-up, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
Working with Kurdish representatives in federal institutions, the delegation is meeting with the Iraqi Ministry of Finance to discuss the Region’s oil and financial obligations and its entitlements under the 2027 federal budget.
According to the KRG, the Region has fulfilled its financial and oil obligations to the federal government and is committed to continuing to meet them in 2027. The delegation says these obligations should not be used as grounds to delay, suspend or reduce the Region’s financial entitlements.
The negotiations cover salaries and other payments to public employees, the Peshmerga and internal security forces, pensioners, political prisoners, families of martyrs and social welfare beneficiaries. They also address staffing allocations, job grades, operational costs, investment projects and other constitutional and legal entitlements.
The KRG delegation has called for salaries and basic financial entitlements to be excluded from actual-spending calculations and other restrictions that could delay or reduce payments.
It has also stressed the need for a clear and stable mechanism in the federal budget to ensure the regular transfer of the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements.
The outcome of the negotiations will determine how the Region’s share, public-sector payments and other financial rights are addressed in Iraq’s 2027 budget.