Baghdad, Kurdistan officials push to end salary standoff

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Baghdad, Kurdistan officials push to end salary standoff

Iraqi and Kurdish finance officials continued talks in Baghdad on Saturday to solve the lengthy-strolling dispute over salary payments for Kurdistan location employees and retirees, Iraq’s finance ministry said.

“Taif Sami, Iraqi Finance Minister, attended the conferences, which lasted until past due inside the evening, alongside Kurdistan local government (KRG) officials, and the foreign Minister Fuad Hussein,” the ministry said in a assertion.

“another meeting on the finance ministry is vital to without delay audit income lists, annual and month-to-month prices, and make the specified adjustments as quick as possible,” Sami changed into quoted as saying after the talks.

A joint technical committee has been scrutinizing payroll facts for civil and contractual employees, as well as social security beneficiaries, that allows you to finalize payments, the ministry added.

a protracted Dispute

Talks between Baghdad and the KRG have entered their 2nd day, with both facets seeking to deal with technical limitations.

On Friday, Kurdish officers, including round 20 representatives led through KRG Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab, met on the Iraqi foreign Minister’s residence in Baghdad to speak about December salaries and 2025 bills.

“The atmosphere was very positive,” Janab informed newshounds. “We discussed salary tables and desire to finalize funding through Sunday (Feb. 2).”

Kurdistan’s revenue crisis dates returned to 2014 whilst disputes over oil revenue and finances allocations brought about Baghdad to halt funding to the vicinity.

In response, the Kurdistan nearby government (KRG) commenced independently exporting oil, escalating political and economic tensions. but, in March 2023, Turkiye close down the Iraq–Turkiye Pipeline (ITP) following a ruling via the international Chamber of trade’s global courtroom of Arbitration.

The court docket ordered Ankara to pay around $1.five billion in damages to Iraq for transporting oil without Baghdad’s approval. The shutdown further strained Kurdistan’s budget, main to renewed salary charge delays for Kurdish public zone employees.

no matter successive budget agreements, the disaster stays unresolved, in large part due to political mistrust and non-compliance with agreed terms.