ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s 2023 budget bill includes funds to implement a constitutional article about contested regions of the country as well as to establish joint brigades between the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi army, Iraq’s deputy finance minister said on Saturday.
“The prime minister’s office asked for 50 billion dinars ($38 million) from Iraq’s 2023 budget for the implementation of article 140, however as the Ministry of Finance, we increased that amount to 100 billion dinars, since the implementation of the article is a part of the government’s programme,” Deputy Finance Minister Masoud Haider told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution details steps to resolve a dispute between the federal and regional government who both claim jurisdiction over disputed areas of the country such as Kirkuk province. Successive federal governments have failed to implement the article.
The budget also includes funds to establish two joint Iraqi-Kurdish brigades, according to the deputy minister. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga Ministry, in coordination with the Iraqi Defence Ministry, will establish two brigades including 20,000 Peshmerga. All procedures for the establishment of these brigades are finalized, he said.
“When the budget bill is passed, the Peshmerga will legally be a part of Iraq’s defence and security system,” said Haider.
In addition, Haider said the Iraqi government has allocated 2.7 trillion dinars for investments in the Kurdistan Region.
The Iraqi council of ministers on March 13 approved the federal budget bill for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, after nearly a year without a budget. The draft bill is now before the parliament.
The budget has been a point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad for years, especially after the Kurdistan Region began to sell its oil through Turkey and the Islamic State (ISIS) attack on Iraq in 2014.
By Azhi Rasul
