KRG Reaffirms Commitment to Obligations, Urges Federal Government to Transfer Full Financial Entitlements to the Kurdistan Region

On 8 January, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a session of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers, with Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in attendance.

During the session, the Council emphasised that the KRG has fully and effectively fulfilled all its obligations to the Federal Government of Iraq. Despite clear constitutional entitlements, the allocations outlined in the Budget Law, and the decision of the Iraqi Council of Ministers directing the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay the salaries of the Kurdistan Region until the end of 2024, the federal government has failed to honour its commitments to ensure payment of salaries for the Region's public sector employees.

The Council highlighted that the total allocation for the Kurdistan Region's public sector salaries, as outlined in the federal budget tables, amounts to 11 trillion and 576 billion Iraqi dinars (IQD). However, only IQD 1 trillion and 752 billion has been disbursed to date. To address the shortfall, the KRG has utilised IQD 960 billion from internal revenues. While the Kurdistan Region has consistently met its obligations by contributing its share to the federal budget, the remaining internal revenues have been directed towards funding public services and investment projects. This allocation was necessitated by the federal government's failure to provide the financial entitlements required for the Kurdistan Region’s operating expenses and investment projects.

The KRG remains committed to engaging with the federal government to secure the salaries and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region. It expects the federal government to fulfil its obligations by providing the financial entitlements owed to the KRG's public sector employees and transferring the outstanding funds for the year 2024.

Finally, the Council reviewed a report on the User Principal Name (UPN) utilised in the biometric registration process for public sector employees in the region and confirmed the submission of all required data to the federal government.