Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated at 19:20)
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met Iraqi PrimeMinister-designate Ali Al-Zaidi in Baghdad on Monday to discuss efforts to formthe next federal government.
The two sides agreed on the importance of expediting theformation of a competent national government capable of representing allcomponents of Iraqi society and meeting citizens' demands. They also stressedthe need to protect the constitutional rights and entitlements of all partiesin resolving the longstanding Erbil-Baghdad file.
Barzani ison a two-day visit to the Iraqi capital to discuss key political files,including government formation and relations between the federal government andthe Kurdistan Region. Earlier today, he discussed political developments with caretaker PrimeMinister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, with both stressing the need to accelerategovernment formation in a way that meets the expectations of all components ofthe Iraqi people.
On Saturday,Al-Zaidi visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, wherehe met Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani, the president, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, beforetraveling to Al-Sulaymaniyah for talks with Patriotic Union ofKurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani as part of ongoing consultations on thegovernment program and cabinet lineup.