Kurdistan Regional Government

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KRG-US December 2020 newsletter 1 message

Kurdistan Regional Government - USA Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 7:06 PM Reply-To: [email protected] To: [email protected]

Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United States Washington D.C.

Welcome to our December 2020 Newsletter

Both the federal government and the KRG are struggling financially due to the fall in oil prices. The dispute over the KRG’s share of the federal budget has been a source of disagreements and tensions for several years. Prime Minister Barzani has asked that the United States and the United Nations join high-level talks to bring about a lasting constitutional settlement. The Prime Minister discussed this in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month as well as in his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker, who visited Kurdistan in early December.

Kurdistan-US relations expanded in This past month, the Kurdistan Regional 2020 Government negotiating team, led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, has This past year, the Kurdistan-US been in Baghdad to discuss the KRG’s relationship has continued to grow, despite share of the federal budget and other the challenges posed by the coronavirus. disputes. We are hopeful that an agreement has been reached on the

Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM budget that will enable both sides to see The year began with a meeting by the country through 2021 after a year of President Nechirvan Barzani and President great hardship for all. Donald Trump in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A Deputy Prime Minister Talabani and the few weeks later, Prime Minister Barzani High-Level Committee on Baghdad met Secretary Pompeo and Secretary of Relations met with various leaders in the Energy Dan Brouillette at the Munich Iraqi capital, as well as parliamentary Security Conference. He also met a large committees and federal ministries to congressional delegation led by Senator identify and eliminate stumbling blocks to Lindsay Graham. In August, KRG officials, an agreement. led by the President’s Chief-of-Staff Fawzi Hariri, visited Washington DC as part of the In a KRG Cabinet meeting last week, Prime Iraq delegation, to participate in the US Minister Masrour Barzani recognized the Iraq Strategic Dialogue. tireless efforts of the negotiating team and said the KRG is seeking a peaceful and fair We also saw the KRG Minister of resolution to ongoing disputes and Endowment and Religious Affairs, ensuring there are no challenges in Pishtiwan Sadiq, and Ambassador Sam Baghdad to an equitable agreement that Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large protects Kurdistan’s constitutional financial for International Religious Freedom, take entitlements. part in a virtual roundtable on freedom of belief in the Kurdistan Region. And last Need for a lasting settlement month, we were pleased to have Prime Minister Barzani and US Deputy Energy The Iraqi Cabinet has submitted a draft Secretary Mark Menezes open a two-day budget law for 2021 to the Iraqi parliament. virtual conference on Kurdistan's economic The KRG’s share of the federal budget will priorities. The conference was organized remain at 12.67%. However, the budget is by the US Chamber in collaboration with categorized into sovereign and non our Mission in Washington DC. sovereign expenditure and the KRG's share is calculated after sovereign These meetings took place against a expenses are deducted. Sovereign backdrop of continued security cooperation expenditure includes spending on foreign and growing economic and cultural ties. affairs, defense, the federal court, the We hope to see these connections broaden Council of Ministers, and various federal in 2021. agencies and institutions. On behalf of the KRG Representation Although the KRG believes it is entitled to team, I would like to wish everyone a more than 12.67%, it has agreed to this happy, healthy, and successful new year. amount and said that if the draft budget law is approved, it would be ready to deliver 250,000 barrels of oil per day through the Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman Iraqi oil marketing company SOMO. Representative to the United States Kurdistan Regional Government

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Representative Abdul Rahman meets What does the Kurdistan flag mean to with congressional and White House the Kurdistani people? Watch the video officials to find out

Representative Bayan Sami Abdul On December 17th, every year, the Rahman this month held meetings with Kurdistani people celebrate Kurdistan Flag officials at the White House, Department of Day by festooning their homes, schools, Energy, Congress, and the American... and places of work with our colorful flag...

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Kurdistan in America Episode 11 - A discussion about ARCH International's restoration of the tomb of the Prophet Nahum

DECEMBER 25, 2020 KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES SEASON 1 EPISODE 11

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With ISIS only a few miles away, you'd think that the last thing an American NGO would want to do is start considering restoring a tomb in Iraq of a prophet from the Old Testament. But that's exactly what ARCH International did in 2014 when it began to look at the tomb of Prophet Nahom in Al Qosh.

In this episode of the Kurdistan in America Podcast, Delovan Barwari, from the KRG Representation in the United States, speaks to Sophia Schultz from ARCH International and Katherine Vecchi and Julie Fether, two recent graduates of Johns Hopkins University. The nonprofit organization and the university came together around this cultural heritage site. The KRG was the first major sponsor of this fascinating multi-year project that succeeded against all the odds as ISIS was still in Mosul around the time the nonprofit first assessed the site. In the time of the ongoing pandemic, Katherine Vecchi and Julie Fether looked into ways of making the site accessible and exciting for visitors online and learned much about Kurdistan along the way.

Listen to the podcast

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President Nechirvan Barzani's Christmas message

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The President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani issued the following message on Christmas: On the occasion of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, I extend my warmest congratulations to our...

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—- "i * MiTiA. rM Prime Minister Masrour Barzani receives Coalition Commander

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday met with Commander of Coalition's Special Operations Joint Task Force, Brigadier General Guillaume Beaurpere, to discuss the latest...

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KRG Council of Ministers convenes on dialogue with Baghdad

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government of Iraq on outstanding issues. Joined by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani,...

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Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today met with the Head of Iraqi National Security Agency, Abdul-Ghani Al-Asadi, to discuss regional developments. In the meeting, both sides spoke about...

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KRG Delegation visits Iraq parliament

The Kurdistan Regional Government's High-level Delegation on Baghdad Relations met with the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, his two Deputies, and heads of relevant committees at the...

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KRG Delegation meets with Iraqi Oil and Finance Ministers

A Kurdistan Regional Government high-level delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani met with the federal ministers of Oil and Finance in Baghdad this evening. The...

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KRG's negotiators explain result of talks with Baghdad

28 December - Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami chaired a meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government's negotiating team with Baghdad, led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani. The heads of the parliamentary parties,...

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Kurdish Families Pay Islamic State Iraq's KRG looks to accelerate oil debt Ransom to Free Loved Ones repayments

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For more than six months, a frightening The Kurdistan Regional Government thought often kept Kurdish farmer Mofaq (KRG) is looking to take advantage of the Haji Rashid up at night: he might never recent jump in oil prices to pay down see his 23-year-old son again. some of its accrued debts to foreign oil...

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Iraqi army detains over 20 members of Director of Kurdistan Coordination PKK-affiliated group in Sinjar Center: ISIS threat remains

The Iraqi military launched a detention “The threat of ISIS remains, and that’s campaign on Saturday evening in which it why the Coalition is still here,” Col. David arrested over 20 members of an armed Williams, the Director of the Kurdistan militia affiliated to the... Coordination Center (KCC)...

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KRG ‘ready’ to hand over 250,000 'This year is special': Duhok Christians barrels of Kurdistan Region oil to celebrate Christmas at home SOMO: Qubad Talabani Churchgoers and clergymen across the The Kurdistan Regional Government is Kurdistan Region are celebrating a ready to hand over oil to Baghdad, different kind of Christmas this year Deputy Prime Minister Qubad... Read more Read more

Kurd wins top physics prize in Canada Kurdistan Region bans travel to nine countries over new COVID-19 strain

Ebrahim Karimi, Professor with the The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Department of Physics from the (KRG) Interior Ministry announced on University of Ottawa and originally from Thursday that it had prohibited travel to Iranian Kurdistan... and from nine countries as a result of...

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For inquiries, please contact Delovan Barwari, the Director of Public and Humanitarian Affairs, at: [email protected]

NOTIFICATION: The Kurdistan Regional Government Liaison Office - U.S.A. is registered as an agent of the Kurdistan Regional Government under 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq. | 1532 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036

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Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM

Happy New Year from the Kurdistan Regional Government 1 message

Kurdistan Regional Government - USA Reply-To: [email protected] To: [email protected]

Kurdistan Regional Government

Representation in the United States

Washington D.C.

The Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United

States wishes you and your loved ones a happy new year.

May 2021 bless the people around the world with peace, health,

prosperity, and happiness.

Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/21/2021 10:05:15 AM

Photo by Dashti-Erbil Photography

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