ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Finance and Economy arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday  for discussions with relevant authorities in the Iraqi federal government over the disbursement of the Region’s salaries.

During the Iraqi Council of Ministers’ meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reportedly requested a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) visits the Iraqi capital to start the work of the recently-formed committees, aimed at resolving outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad.

A source from the KRG finance ministry told The New Region on Wednesday that the delegation consists of representatives from the finance ministry and the Supreme Audit Bureau of the Kurdistan Region, and will meet with their counterparts in the Iraqi finance ministry.

“They will provide clarification on expenditure and income of June and July, and they will also discuss the salary issue of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants,” the source added.

Sudani has reportedly granted the committee formed to investigate salary and oil disputes between Erbil and Baghdad an additional week to finalize its investigation, after receiving conflicting accounts from Finance Minister Taif Sami and Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani regarding the progress of the committee’s work. Ghani reportedly told Sudani that the committee has prepared their report, stating that 130,000 barrels of oil are produced in the Region currently, of which 50,000 are to be allocated for local consumption.

The suspension of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servant salaries by the Iraqi finance ministry sparked outrage among the Region’s public as well as officials and politicians, who have slammed the decision as “political.”

The Region’s civil servant salaries for the month of May were disbursed in late July after months of deliberation between the two governments, coming after Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami said that Baghdad was “unable to continue funding the Region” for the rest of the year, arguing that Erbil has already exceeded its share of the annual budget.

The Region’s employees have yet to receive June and July salaries as of the time of writing this article.