Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke by phone today, on Friday, with US Special Presidential Coordinator, Amos Hochstein.

During the call, Prime Minister Barzani reflected on his visit to Baghdad last week to signal KRG’s readiness to address the 18-year-old disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. Prime Minister reaffirmed his personal support to the new Iraqi Prime Minister, in particular his efforts to pass a federal hydrocarbons law in line with the Iraqi Constitution. Prime Minister Barzani said that until then the KRG welcomes coordination with Baghdad to continue production and development of its energy sector.

In the exchange, Special Presidential Coordinator Hochstein also shared his assessment of his visit to Erbil and Baghdad this week. They both agreed on the need to remove all obstacles to the development of the energy sector.

Prime Minister Barzani and Special Presidential Envoy Hochstein also discussed Kurdistan Region-US relations. They both agreed on the importance of more American trade and investment in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

They agreed to stay in close contact.