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Kurdistan Parliament approves new KRG Cabinet; New Prime Minister calls for united front in Baghdad negotiations
Erbil - Kurdistan, Iraq (KRG.org) – The Kurdistan Parliament today approved the new Kurdistan Regional Government cabinet. Incoming Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his ministers were sworn in to begin their two-year term.
While many of the ministers remain in their previous positions, nine new ministers were sworn into the 7th cabinet.
Announcing the agenda of the new cabinet, Prime Minister Barzani said that Kurdistan needs a collective effort to maintain progress and promote national unity, in spite of individual political and ideological differences. “We must begin a national dialogue to build a consensus on how we can improve our society,” he said.
“We also must have a united front in our negotiations with Baghdad, and at present the mechanism does not exist to create this united view. We must move ahead quickly with the formation of a High Council for Negotiations to oversee these discussions. All parties – government and opposition – must participate in this Council so that we can develop a meaningful consensus among ourselves on how to approach these difficult issues,” he added.
The new Prime Minister went on to describe plans to increase government transparency and to implement a policy to help separate the functions of political parties from the operations of the government as a whole, as well as initiatives to deliver better services to the people of Kurdistan and make better provision for the disadvantaged and poor.
The new cabinet was approved in keeping with the legal timeframe set by President Masoud Barzani’s call to form the new cabinet, on March 7. The members of the 7th Cabinet sworn into posts today are:
Prime Minister - Nechirvan Idris Barzani*
Deputy Prime Minister - Imad Ahmad Sayfour*
Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources - Serwan Baban*
Minister of Culture and Youth - Kawa Mahmoud Shakir
Minister of Education - Asmat Muhamad Khalid*
Minister of Electricity - Yasin Sheikh Abu Bakir Muhammad Mawati
Minister of Endowment & Religious Affairs - Kamil Ali Aziz
Minister of Finance & the Economy - Bayiz Saeed Mohammad Talabani
Minister of Health - Rekawt Hama Rasheed*
Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research - Ali Saeed*
Minister of Housing and Reconstruction - Kamaran Ahmed Abdullah
Minister of Justice - Sherwan Haidary*
Minister for the Interior - Abdul Karim Sultan Sinjari
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs - Ms Asos Najib Abdullah
Minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs - Sabah Ahmed Mohamed (Mamosta Aram)
Minister of Municipalities and Tourism - Dilshad Shahab*
Minister of Natural Resources - Abdullah Abdulrahman Abdullah (Ashti Hawrami)
Minister of Peshmerga Affairs - Jafar Mustafa Ali
Minister of Planning - Ali Sindi
Minister of Trade and Industry - Sinan Abdulkhalq Ahmed Çelebi
Minister of Transport and Communications - Jonson Siyaoosh*
Other senior officials with ministerial rank
President, Divan of the Council of Ministers - Fawzi Franso Toma Hariri
Secretary of the Cabinet - Mohammad Qaradaghi
Head of the Department of Foreign Relations - Falah Mustafa Bakir
Chairman of the Investment Board - Herish Muharam
* Denotes a newly appointed minister.
See also
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