Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with the Erbil Crisis Management Operations Room at the Erbil Governorate headquarters on March 17.
Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw provided an overview of the team’s work and activities, noting that the Operations Room brings together service departments and relevant security agencies.
The Prime Minister thanked them and all the concerned institutions for their readiness and ongoing efforts to carry out their duties, support citizens, and protect public security in Erbil and the Kurdistan Region. He instructed officials to fulfill their responsibilities and to prevent any disruption in public services.
The Prime Minister reassured the people of Kurdistan that every effort is being made to protect citizens and to keep the Kurdistan Region away from the war and tensions in the region. He noted that despite repeated attacks by outlaw forces on oil and gas fields and refineries, the KRG has continued its efforts to address the electricity situation.
In a press conference following the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed that the Kurdistan Region is more concerned than anyone else about the economy, salaries, and citizens’ livelihoods. He reiterated that the KRG supports the resumption of oil exports by Iraq and is not creating obstacles, adding that the Kurdistan Region has only requested guarantees to ensure it can produce and export oil from its fields as well. He stated that Baghdad previously halted Kurdistan Region oil exports through the courts; therefore, the interruption of exports is not the Kurdistan Region’s fault. He noted that exports through the Kurdistan Region to the port of Ceyhan are limited and cannot compensate for the loss of Iraq’s oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The Prime Minister reaffirmed the KRG’s readiness to cooperate and coordinate with the federal government to resume exports.
Regarding the ASYCUDA customs system, the Prime Minister clarified that the Kurdistan Region has not stated it will refuse to implement it. On the contrary, the KRG has agreed to implement the system, but it has requested time to make the necessary preparations, particularly given the current difficult economic and commercial conditions and the sharp decline in trade activity in the Kurdistan Region.
The Prime Minister thanked the coalition and international partners for their support in protecting Kurdistan and its people and infrastructure.
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