ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Adil Abdul-Mahdi, oil minister in Iraq’s new government, enjoys good relations with the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that could be instrumental in solving serious oil and other rows, officials say.
US and UN representatives reportedly assured Kurdish negotiators that no opponents of Kurdish rights would be allowed office in the new Iraqi government, as an incentive for the Kurds to join the administration in Baghdad.
It is widely expected that Abdul-Mahdi could use his ties with the Kurds to break the longstanding deadlock between the KRG and Baghdad, which exacerbated under the former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, over oil contracts and revenues.
Some observers say Abdul-Mahdi has been a compromising figure within the Shiite alliance and could successfully resume the halted negotiations over oil production and revenues.
Nonetheless, he seems to be faced with formidable -- if not impossible – challenges, since the KRG has declared it wants both to produce its own oil and sell it internationally, which Baghdad has called illegal and tried to stop.
A key task for the new oil ministry is to restore the trust of the international oil companies that were disenchanted by the existing bureaucratic system in Iraq, which constantly delayed implementation of their signed contracts.
The tedious paperwork in southern Iraq has been a source of frustration for many companies. Some international corporations, such as Italy’s ENI, have threatened to terminate their contracts and leave Iraq all together.
Abdul-Mahdi, who is a prominent member of the Islamic High Council, has held a number of positions so far, including finance minister and vice president.
“He’s a man of negotiation and can be trusted,” says Mithal al-Alusi, an independent Iraqi MP. “He could build the best of bridges between Baghdad and Erbil.”
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