Prime Minister Barzani chairs meeting of Supreme Economic Council to discuss 2021 budget bill
Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today presided over a meeting of the Kurdistan Region’s Supreme Economic Council to discuss ongoing efforts to present a comprehensive 2021 budget bill, as well as reforms.
The Prime Minister noted that the government is putting forward every effort to restructure its revenue system, reduce public expenses, reorganise government staff, and eliminate redundancies in the government’s payroll system. This process aims to ensure fairness in the system and compensation for hardworking employees.
Prime Minister Barzani emphasised the government remains committed to increasing its productivity and competitive edge by removing systemic barriers in its bureaucracy, adding that the 2021 budget bill should strive to improve the conditions for doing business while understanding the Kurdistan Region’s unique challenges. He underlined that the draft budget should be realistic and transparent, taking into consideration revenue figures from oil sales and other sources of income. It should address government spending, prospective deficits, and the current financial conditions of the Kurdistan Region.
Minister of Finance and Economy, Awat Sheikh Janab, and Minister of Planning, Dara Rashid, each presented detailed reports on current financial conditions in the Kurdistan Region, as well as details of the budget draft for the fiscal year of 2021. Head of the Department of Coordination and Follow-Up, Abdul-Hakim Khasro, reported on steps taken to implement previous decisions from the Supreme Economic Council. The Council of Ministers will review the draft and submit it to parliament for debate in the near future.
The Prime Minister also reiterated that the Kurdistan Region, having fulfilled its own constitutional obligations toward Baghdad, will continue to hold a dialogue with the Federal Government which has a constitutional duty to live up to its financial commitments toward the Kurdistan Region in the 2021 federal budget bill.
The Cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss, among other things, details of the budget draft and the financial impacts of the current political climate in Iraq.
