KRG Council Reaffirms Budget Entitlements, Advances Peshmerga Reform

The council’s media office

KRG Council of Ministers.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers convened its regular meeting on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.

At the outset of the meeting, Minister of Finance and Economy Awat Sheikh Janab outlined the latest developments regarding the Kurdistan Region’s financial position, including the funding of February salaries for public employees. He also provided an update on the outcomes of the recent meeting of the joint team from the Federal and Regional Boards of Supreme Audit concerning the mutual financial obligations between the two governments.

The Council reaffirmed that the federal government’s responsibilities should not be confined to covering salaries and financial entitlements of employees in the Region, but must also include transferring the Kurdistan Region’s full share of the federal budget, in accordance with the 14.1 per cent allocation based on the Iraqi population census.

The Council further noted that the Kurdistan Region has met all its financial and oil-related commitments, and that the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy has been submitting payroll lists and monthly trial balances to the Federal Ministry of Finance in a transparent manner and without shortcomings. With regard to the commitment to transfer 120 billion dinars for February, the Cabinet stressed that this payment must be treated as an absolute priority, ahead of any other expenditure, so that the Federal Ministry of Finance would have no grounds to delay the disbursement of February salaries or those of subsequent months.

In a related development, the Cabinet reviewed the results of the joint meeting of the two Financial Control Offices held in Baghdad on 23 February 2026, during which all documentation, evidence, and constitutional, legal and financial justifications underpinning the Region’s financial entitlements were presented and clarified.

Under the second item on the agenda, Minister of Peshmerga Affairs Shorsh Ismail delivered a report on the latest measures taken to implement reforms within the ministry and to reorganise all Peshmerga forces under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. He also presented a summary of the joint minutes signed by the relevant parties, which define the structure, responsibilities and powers of the regional commands.

The Council commended the efforts of the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and the joint committees, describing the step as historic and significant in institutionalising and unifying all forces under the Ministry of Peshmerga, and in clearly defining the leadership’s authority within the new structure. The Council also expressed its appreciation to international partners for their continued support of the reform process. It instructed the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and the relevant bodies to proceed with the necessary measures in line with the approved joint minutes.

Under the third and final item, the Council considered a proposal submitted by the Minister of Interior, Rebar Ahmed, to extend the previous Council decision of 16 December 2025, which introduced a 20 per cent reduction in traffic fines, for a further six months until 30 June 2026. Following deliberations, the Council approved the extension of the reduction for the specified period.



PUKMEDIA