Al-Kadhimi on the National Dialogue: can bring closure to Baghdad-Erbil disagreements

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, said today, Tuesday, that the National Dialogue initiative can solve all disputes between the federal and the Kurdistan Regional governments.

According to a statement by his office, this came in statements he made during the weekly session of the Council of Ministers.

Al-Kadhimi said that the idea of starting a national dialogue is inspired by the conclusion of Pope Francis's.

He added, "The idea of ​​a national dialogue can also contribute to resolving all disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government."

The President of Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani welcomed Al-Kadhimi's initiative and expressed the region's readiness to reach a comprehensive agreement on the differences between the two sides.

Al-Kadhimi pointed out, "this government, from the first day of its formation, is a government of actions, and it must work hard to lead Iraq to safety", noting, "the government was able to overcome many of the crises it inherited from previous periods and succeeded in overcoming them through patience, complementarity, and solidarity. Still, there are projects awaiting work and establishment." 

"I hope that we will contemplate what we have accomplished over the past seven months, what we have succeeded in, and what needs more hard work."

"We need to evaluate ourselves after seven months to know where we were wrong and where we were right, and evaluate the experience."

"This government has a set of obligations, establishing fair and just elections, maintaining the security situation, protecting the economic situation and preventing it from collapse, but this does not exempt us from our obligations towards our people."

"Ramadan is at the gates. I urge the Minister of Trade to pay attention to the poor in the matter of the ration card," adding, " the poor segment is wide in Iraq, and in some regions, due to the Corona pandemic and economic challenges, the poor segment has begun to expand. The Ministry of Trade must fulfill its duty and provide the items in the best and most dignifying way for citizens, as it is not a grant but rather a duty of the government towards its people."

 "The ministers of trade and labor and all ministries must work with full capacity to support the segment of the poor people, especially since Ramadan is just around the corner."