Baghdad, Erbil reach an agreement over the 2023 budget: lawmaker

Shafaq News/ Baghdad and Erbil have reached a final agreement over the Kurdistan region's share in the 2023 federal budget, lawmaker Haitham al-Mayahi revealed on Tuesday.

"Following a series of meetings in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq decided the region's share in the 2023 budget," the member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament told Shafaq News Agency.

"The region, according to the agreement, stands at 12.67% of the budget," he added, "the recent meetings also settled the contentious efforts that delayed the approval of the 2023 budget bill. This includes the hydrocarbons law, the Peshmerga salaries, and the entitlements of the Kurds in the state."

The budget has been a main point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad, especially after the Kurdistan Region's decision to sell its oil through Turkey. Almost two years after Iraq passed its last budget law, Erbil and Baghdad remain in disagreement over a variety of financial issues.