Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday received Ammar al-Hakim, leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement, for talks on political and regional developments, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

During the meeting, Barzani and al-Hakim exchanged views on the political and economic situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as well as recent developments across the wider region.

The two sides also stressed the importance of resolving outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government through dialogue and within the framework of the Iraqi Constitution, the KRG statement said.

Relations between Erbil and Baghdad have remained strained over a number of longstanding issues, including the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements, public-sector salaries, oil and gas exports, and the implementation of constitutional provisions governing relations between the two sides.

Despite several agreements reached in recent years, disputes over oil revenues, budget allocations and the mechanism for funding the Kurdistan Region’s public-sector payroll have repeatedly disrupted salary payments and contributed to tensions between the regional and federal governments.

Oil exports remain one of the most contentious issues. The Kurdistan Region’s independent crude exports through Turkey were halted in March 2023 following an international arbitration ruling, prompting negotiations over arrangements to resume exports through Iraq’s state-owned oil marketing system.

Since then, Erbil and Baghdad have sought to establish a mechanism for restarting exports while addressing disagreements over production costs, oil revenues and federal payments to the Kurdistan Region.