Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will lead a delegation to Baghdad for talks with the new Iraqi government next week, a senior Kurdish official announced, and will offer 24/7 electricity access to the rest of Iraq.

This will be the first visit to Baghdad by KRG Prime Minister Barzani since the formation of the new Iraqi government this week.

Aziz Ahmad, Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Barzani announced in a post on X that the KRG will offer its “unique experience with the 24-hour Runaki program to the new federal government, including technical assistance and access to our technology to accelerate Prime Minister [Ali al-Zaidi’s] ambitions for electricity sector reform.”

Moreover, Ahmad wrote that Prime Minister Barzani will also follow up on security assurances to allow oil and gas companies in the Kurdistan Region to resume production and exports, potentially doubling Iraq’s export capacity to over 500,000 barrels per day. 

“Companies cannot be expected to resume operations amid the threat of drones in the skies,” he underlined.

On April 8, the United States and Iran agreed to a regional two-week ceasefire after 40 days of conflict, which also saw a number of attacks by Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups on oil fields, including in the Kurdistan Region.

In a phone call on Monday with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on March 30, Prime Minister Barzani underlined the need for “support to protect Kurdistan’s energy infrastructure.”

On May 14, the new federal government, led by Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi, was approved by the Iraqi parliament.

Following the Iraqi parliament’s endorsement, KRG Prime Minister Barzani held a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi, congratulating him on being elected by the majority of the Iraqi parliament.

“I hope this will be the beginning of a new phase of stability and peace in Iraq, the resolution of all issues, the implementation of the Constitution, and improved relations between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government,” Prime Minister Barzani posted on X following the call.