ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Monday to discuss the Region’s financial entitlements and share of the 2027 federal budget with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and other senior political leaders.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Barzani was leading a high-level delegation and was scheduled to meet with Zaidi and leaders of Iraqi political parties.

“The main focus of the talks is guaranteeing the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional rights, financial entitlements and share in the 2027 federal budget,” the KRG added.

A major point of contention in the proposed budget is the Kurdistan Region’s share, with the initial draft allocating 12.68 percent. The KRG has insisted that its share reflects its actual population, which is 14.14 percent of Iraq’s total.

Barzani has said that anything less than that would be considered “unfair”.

The visit comes a day before the draft budget is due to be submitted to parliament, according to The New Region’s correspondent in Baghdad.

Erbil and Baghdad have held several meetings on the budget. A high-level KRG delegation arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to discuss the disputed 2027 budget draft with federal authorities.

Also on Tuesday, Zaidi discussed the budget with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lawmakers in Baghdad.

During the meeting, the premier “reaffirmed the government’s commitment to securing the salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region – ensuring they are treated on par with their counterparts in other ministries and provinces.” 

Baghdad's failure to disburse public salaries for the Region's civil servants on time has long been another point of contention between the two governments.