ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, a Kurd, on Saturday said that talks regarding the issues between Baghdad and Erbil over resuming Kurdish oil exports and sharing the Region’s non-oil revenues have “advanced a lot,” suggesting that an agreement might be reached soon.

Iraq on Saturday held the Baghdad International Energy Forum, bringing together top officials relating to the sector within and outside of Iraq. The forum saw speeches from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, Foreign Minister Hussein, and OPEC chief Haitham al-Ghais, among others.

“Regarding agreement between the [Kurdistan] Regional Government [KRG] and the federal Iraqi government, what relates to non-oil incomes has advanced a lot. I expect to reach an understanding, God willing, in the coming days,” Hussein told reporters on Saturday on the sidelines of the forum.

The Iraqi foreign minister further noted that he foresees a solution, also “in the coming days,” to the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, noting that the issues have not been between the KRG and International Oil Companies (IOC), or Baghdad and the IOCs, but when the three sides came together. “It is my expectation that we will reach a result in the coming days, that there will be a tripartite understanding,” said Hussein.

Hussein’s words come amid efforts by Erbil and Baghdad negotiating delegations, who have held a series of meetings to reach an understanding regarding the two major issues, the latest of which were held in Baghdad on Thursday, yielding no new results.

Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami, in a letter addressed to the KRG in late May, claimed that Erbil had already exhausted its share of the 2025 federal budget, saying that the finance ministry will no longer fund the Region’s civil servant salaries; as a result, government employees in the Kurdistan Region have gone months at a time without receiving their due payment.

Economic sanctions and pressure on Erbil by federal authorities have pushed employees in the Region to live from paycheck to paycheck. Civil servants in the Region received their salaries for June in September, while July and August salaries have yet to be funded by the Iraqi government. The KRG has time and again reiterated that they have “more than fulfilled” their obligations relating to finding solutions with Iraqi authorities.

The New Region understands that the federal government insists that the KRG must hand over 100 percent of the domestic revenue generated in the Region.

Erbil and Baghdad, meanwhile, are in agreement over the protocol for resuming oil exports. The IOCs operating in the Region however, require guarantees that they will be compensated 16 US dollars for each barrel of oil produced, a requirement that Baghdad has refused to guarantee as of the time of writing this article.

It is unclear whether progression has been made between Baghdad and the IOCs relating to this guarantee given Hussein's comments and hopes for a "tripartite understanding."