| 2007: Prime Minister Barzani calls on Iraq federal government |
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7/17/07 Mr Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, today called upon the federal government to move quickly and take the agreed draft Revenue Sharing Law and agreed draft Oil and Gas Law to the Council of Representatives (Iraq’s federal parliament). He said, “The sooner the agreed drafts are enacted into law, the better for all Iraqi peoples. While this law is vital for Iraqis, it is also important that we demonstrate to the international community that we are capable of bringing this law into action.” “We are concerned that the agreed drafts have been bogged down in an obscure committee in Baghdad - called the ‘Shura Council’, which has made unauthorised material changes to the agreed drafts, apparently in consultation with unnamed oil ministry officials in Baghdad. This is not acceptable. It is a delaying tactic that must be swept aside. The agreed drafts must be reinstated and put to the Parliament.” The Prime Minister added, “Kurdistan Alliance members in the federal parliament are anxious to move forward on the texts to which the KRG and the federal government agreed. We encourage other political blocs who care about the viability of a federal Iraq to take a similar attitude, so that these two important laws can be enacted as soon as possible”. The draft Revenue Sharing Law will, when enacted, provide for the sharing of all petroleum revenue, wherever derived, to be shared on a per capita basis throughout Iraq, with a guaranteed allocation for the Kurdistan Region. The draft Oil and Gas Law will establish the basis for cooperative petroleum management throughout Iraq, with the Kurdistan Region voluntarily delegating some of its constitutional petroleum powers to a Federal Oil and Gas Council. The draft Revenue Sharing Law was agreed between the KRG and the federal authorities on 20 June. The draft Oil and Gas Law was agreed between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government, and approved by the Iraq Council of Ministers, in February this year. The draft Iraq Revenue Sharing Law is available in English and Arabic. The draft Iraq Oil and Gas Law is available in English and Arabic. |