DUHOK, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The next chapter of relations between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is one of “many shared opportunities,” and there are “no political problems” between the two sides, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said on Tuesday. 

“There are many projects. We must abandon the term ‘outstanding issues’ and set our aim on shared opportunities,” Sudani said during a special conversation at the sixth Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum in Duhok. 

The Iraqi premier’s remarks come despite ongoing budgetary issues between the two governments, with Baghdad frequently withholding Erbil’s share of the federal budget. The Iraqi federal government has yet to provide salaries for the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants for the months of September and October. 

Kurdish authorities have routinely called on their Iraqi counterparts to refrain from mixing political problems with public sector salaries. 

But Sudani argued that “there are no political problems between the governments of Erbil and Baghdad.”

“Our [Iraqi] government places the interests of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan equal to those of all Iraqis,” he stated. 

The Kurdistan Region’s financial disputes with Baghdad are ongoing despite the signing of a landmark deal to resume Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline in September, which had been halted for 30 months after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to export oil independently from Baghdad.

Sudani further asserted that “significant progress” has been made to resolve issues between Baghdad and Erbil. 

“We have made significant progress in overcoming many inherited problems between Baghdad and Erbil, including company contracts and the resumption of oil exports,” he said. 

Iraq held its general parliamentary elections last week, the sixth since the 2003 US-led invasion. Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Alliance emerged as the winner of the vote, with the premier eyeing a second term. 

Speaking at the forum, Sudani defended his desire to remain prime minister. “The second term is not a personal ambition but a responsibility to complete the mission and what we have of a project and vision for the next phase,” he said. 

Sudani further hailed the Iraqi parliamentary elections as "very successful," saying the result accurately reflected the ambitions of Iraqi society. 

“There is a readiness from all political parties to adhere to constitutional deadlines to form Iraq’s next government,” the prime minister asserted. 

He highlighted progress during his cabinet’s tenure, particularly in reducing unemployment and promoting the private sector. 

“Unemployment rates have dropped from 17 to 13 percent,” said Sudani. “We have established the concept among the youth that a government job is not the only employment opportunity, but the private sector as well.”