ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani is en route to Baghdad, where he is set to hold his first official meeting with officials of the new Iraqi government to discuss regional developments and long-standing Erbil-Baghdad disputes.

“Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, headed to Baghdad leading a high-level government delegation,” the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Saturday.

The premier is set to hold government-to-government talks with the new Iraqi cabinet.

The Premier is set to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi, and Supreme Judicial Council chief Faiq Zidan during his Baghdad trip, as well as other political leaders, the KRG added. 

The visit marks the premier’s first official trip to Baghdad since the formation of the new Iraqi cabinet and his seventh visit as Kurdistan Region Prime Minister since taking office in 2019.

“The latest changes and developments in the general situation of Iraq and the region, resolving the pending issues between the Kurdistan Region and the Federal Government on a constitutional basis, will be discussed," the KRG said.

The discussions are expected to also include the ongoing salary dispute, the resumption of oil exports, and continued attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February, The New Region has learned.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Kurdistan Region has been struck with hundreds of drones and missiles, resulting in tens of casualties and significant material damage, despite Kurdish authorities repeatedly stressing that the Region is not party to the hostilities.

The continued attacks have led several foreign oil and gas producers in the Kurdistan Region to halt production to protect their staff.

The Kurdish premier has welcomed Zaidi's appointment and securing of parliamentary approval for his government, congratulating him in late April and expressing his hopes that his tenure will "witness a new era filled with security, stability, and peace."