ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A high-level Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation on Wednesday held meetings in Baghdad to contribute to the drafting of the 2027 Iraqi federal budget bill and secure the Region’s constitutional entitlements.

The delegation engaged in meetings with various ministries of the Iraqi government in Baghdad, “with the aim of participating in the stage of preparing and drafting the federal budget bill for 2027 and securing the financial share and constitutional entitlements of the Kurdistan Region,” read a KRG statement.

In a meeting with the Iraqi Finance Minister Faleh al-Sari, the delegation members dubbed KRG’s participation in the drafting stage of the bill an “important and positive step,” and presented the Region’s views and proposals on the bill.

The delegation emphasized “the need to secure the Kurdistan Region's share and entitlements fairly and on the basis of the constitution and law.”

For his part, the Iraqi minister confirmed that Baghdad “deals fairly with the financial rights and entitlements of the Kurdistan Region,” and welcomed the participation of the Region’s delegation, according to the KRG statement.

The KRG has repeatedly emphasized that the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget must be raised to 12.67 percent, in accordance with the Region’s population, which makes up 12.67 percent of Iraq’s total population, according to the latest population census.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in late August said that the government is currently working on preparing the 2027 budget, which will be sent to parliament for approval “soon”.

The KRG representatives also met with Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair, discussing the provisions of the 2027 budget related to the oil sector, including “the total estimated volume of oil for export — including from the Kurdistan Region's oil fields — the estimated price per barrel of oil for fiscal year 2027, and the volume of oil allocated for domestic consumption.”

The minister in turn welcomed the delegation’s observations and proposals and emphasized continued cooperation to reach “a balanced and practical formulation for the oil-related provisions of the 2027 budget.”

After months of political wrangling, the Iraqi parliament passed a three-year budget for 2023, 2024, and 2025, in June 2023. The budget had an annual value of approximately $153 billion, the largest in the country’s history.

Iraq did not pass a budget in 2026, and instead applied a temporary spending mechanism known as the 1/12th rule, under which the government is allowed to spend monthly based on one-twelfth of the previous year’s actual spending.

The Iraqi parliamentary finance committee in July completed a draft for a domestic and foreign borrowing bill, in light of the financial crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.