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Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani’s statement
on talks with Baghdad
20.4.2008
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April 20, 2008
BAGHDAD, -- Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani issued the
following statement on his recent meetings with
Iraqi federal government officials in Baghdad.
He said, “Our meetings in Baghdad were marked by a
positive feeling of cooperation and progress. The
overall purpose of this most recent round of
bilateral meetings between the KRG and the Federal
Government in Baghdad was to discuss the mechanism
of relations between our two bodies as partners in
the governance of Iraq,www.ekurd.net
the advancement of our
political process and other various issues regarding
the future of Iraq.”
During the meetings a wide
range of topics were discussed. Amongst these were:
1. The national hydrocarbon law.
2. The status of the Peshmerga, the constitutionally
mandated guard force of the Kurdistan Region. |
Nechirvan Barzani, Prime
Minister of
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) |
3. Article 140 of the
Constitution, regarding the status of the disputed
territories.
Regarding the hydrocarbon (oil and gas) law, both
sides agreed on the following principles: all
ongoing negotiations will be within the framework of
the constitution; the KRG and Baghdad have agreed
they will start with the previously negotiated,
February 2007 draft hydrocarbon as the basis of the
new draft law to be submitted to parliament. Once
agreement has been reached, the laws concerning oil
and gas, revenue sharing, the Iraqi National Oil
Company, and the restructuring of the Oil Ministry
will be submitted as one package.
Concerning the Peshmerga, it has been decided that a
commission from the Federal Government in Baghdad
will visit the Kurdistan Region in the near future
to discuss practical steps going forward.
On the issue of Article 140, which concerns the
disputed areas in Iraq, work is continuing within
the framework established by the United Nations. As
a first step towards resolution of this issue, the
UN is expected to present its proposal to the
relevant authorities in the Federal Government and
the KRG in the near future.
The series of talks served to advance cooperation
and coordination between the two governing bodies,
ensure the success of the federal system in Iraq,
and the implementation of constitutional commitments
to ensure the country's legal process.
Besides the evident goodwill between both parties,
the talks demonstrated good progress towards
resolving the issues under discussion. Both sides
are clearly committed to the success of the federal
system in Iraq. These talks succeeded in furthering
the achievement of national reconciliation in Iraq
in order to enhance the lives of all Iraqis.
While circumstances in Iraq are such that this
process is not a quick one and the issues under
discussion are complicated and will take time to
solve, the talks made significant progress and
underscore the commitment of both the KRG and the
Federal Government to finding and implementing long
term and mutually agreeable solutions.
The success of these most recent talks strengthens
the federal system in Iraq and will ensure a
prosperous future for the Kurdistan Region and all
Iraq.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, krg org
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