Shafaq News- Baghdad

Reports that Iraq will create two new ministries, for tourism and governance, within Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's cabinet remain under study with no final decision taken, a member of the Coordination Framework told Shafaq News on Thursday.

Mukhtar al-Mousawi said talks are continuing between the political blocs on one side and the prime minister and his government team on the other to assess the administrative, financial, and legal feasibility of any new ministry.

“Any new ministry must rest on clear professional and practical grounds and respond to a genuine need of the state,” al-Mousawi said, rather than serving political ends.

Iraq's Council of Representatives, the country's parliament, granted confidence to al-Zaidi's government and its program on May 14 with 14 ministers, while votes on nine remaining portfolios were postponed until further notice amid political disputes over their distribution and reports of US warnings against including Iran-aligned armed factions in the new lineup.

Read more: How the US pushed Iraq's armed factions toward disarmament

Al-Mousawi expected the picture to become clear by the middle of next week, once rounds of consultation conclude, and said any final decision would be announced officially after deliberations end.