ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Qubad Talabani, hailed his recent trip to the United States a success as US officials pledged to speed up financial assistance to the KRG.
"The visit was positive and productive; the US administration pledged a hastening of financial assistance to the Kurdistan region and its Peshmerga forces," said Talabani on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference in Erbil after their return from the USA, Talabani explained that "our visit was to maintain and develop Kurdish-American relationships."
He added that a second purpose for the visit was to present the Kurdish region’s point of view to American officials. "At this critical stage where there is political complexity in Iraq and the region,” he said, “it is necessary for the Kurds to express their viewpoint to America."
The economic crisis that has hit the region hard was a central focus of meetings with US officials. "The Kurdistan region is going through a tough economic crisis and we had to explain all the details to the US administration and ask for financial aid from them," Talabani stated.
A Kurdish delegation headed by Talabani was in Washington earlier this week to ensure that the autonomous KRG receives its share of an estimated $15 billion of financial assistance that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to approve for Iraq.
Speaking in Washington on April 16, Talabani said that he had received “positive responses” from IMF officials about requests to ensure that Erbil is not left out of the agreement.
"There is a pending agreement that has been drawn up for Iraq and it is hopefully going to be a sizable sum that will be given to Iraq,” Talabani said.
The KRG desperately needs the funds to climb out of a severe financial crisis. The crunch has been brought on by Baghdad’s refusal to make regular payments out of the national budget for salaries for civil servants and the Peshmerga forces, dropping oil prices, and the burden of caring for nearly 2 million refugees and internally displaced persons.
"The visit was positive and productive; the US administration pledged a hastening of financial assistance to the Kurdistan region and its Peshmerga forces," said Talabani on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference in Erbil after their return from the USA, Talabani explained that "our visit was to maintain and develop Kurdish-American relationships."
He added that a second purpose for the visit was to present the Kurdish region’s point of view to American officials. "At this critical stage where there is political complexity in Iraq and the region,” he said, “it is necessary for the Kurds to express their viewpoint to America."
The economic crisis that has hit the region hard was a central focus of meetings with US officials. "The Kurdistan region is going through a tough economic crisis and we had to explain all the details to the US administration and ask for financial aid from them," Talabani stated.
A Kurdish delegation headed by Talabani was in Washington earlier this week to ensure that the autonomous KRG receives its share of an estimated $15 billion of financial assistance that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to approve for Iraq.
Speaking in Washington on April 16, Talabani said that he had received “positive responses” from IMF officials about requests to ensure that Erbil is not left out of the agreement.
"There is a pending agreement that has been drawn up for Iraq and it is hopefully going to be a sizable sum that will be given to Iraq,” Talabani said.
The KRG desperately needs the funds to climb out of a severe financial crisis. The crunch has been brought on by Baghdad’s refusal to make regular payments out of the national budget for salaries for civil servants and the Peshmerga forces, dropping oil prices, and the burden of caring for nearly 2 million refugees and internally displaced persons.
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