Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani met with British Ambassador to Iraq Mark Bryson Richardson in Baghdad on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by David Hunt, British Consul General in Erbil. The Deputy Prime Minister said that Iraq can no longer tolerate unnecessary conflict over offices and privileges, and the parties in the process of forming the government should focus their discussions on crucial political issues and how to form a people-friendly government and a government working to resolve the disputes between the Kurdistan region and Baghdad.
Qubad Talabani stressed that at this stage, an agreement on the oil and gas and the adoption of the oil and gas law should be a priority in the negotiations to form the next Iraqi government because an agreement on this issue creates a favorable environment.
In another part of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister referred to the environmental problems and threats to water resources in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and said that the environmental challenges should be among the priorities of the next Iraqi government.
On his part, the British Ambassador praised the reform steps of the Kurdistan Regional Government and reaffirmed his country's readiness to assist the Kurdistan region in accelerating and further promoting the reform process in government institutions. He called on the KRG to organize a special meeting for the ambassadors and diplomatic envoys to discuss the reform process in the Kurdistan Region.
Qubad Talabani thanked the British Consul General for his visit to the Raperin region and asked him to visit other cities and towns to develop joint plans for investment in these regions and create job opportunities for the residents of the Kurdistan region.