After the meeting at a press conference with Kusret Resul Ali, head of the PUK polit bureau's administration office, Mr Barzani said the talks were very successful. He said, “We talked about how to reform the Kurdistan Regional Government. We also discussed how to go about providing services in areas that have until now not benefited from the services of the KRG." He added that the new government must assess the Region's priorities and serve the people of Kurdistan with a renewed spirit.

The Prime Minister said both sides had stressed the need to clearly separate the work of the political parties from the work of the government. The political parties would nevertheless support the government in performing its tasks, he added.

Referring to complaints about public services, Mr Barzani said, “As I have said before, the rebuilding of our Region only started recently, and it is not possible to reconstruct a devastated region in just two years. But I can assure you that we have made serious plans for fulfilling this important task. This government is different from previous ones because it covers the entire Kurdistan Region, from Zakho to Kifri. It will reassess its priorities and will do what is necessary to provide services directly to the people.”

The Prime Minister reiterated that none of Kurdistan's political parties would lose out in the unification because there is a willingness from all sides to see the unified government succeed. He said, "After the unification, our first step will be to talk with Baghdad to establish a proper mechanism to coordinate our activities with the federal government."

Mr Kusret Resul Ali said the new government would include those parties that have struggled side by side with the PUK and KDP as well as representatives of minorities in Kurdistan such as Turkmen, Chaldeans and Assyrians.

Mr Ali added, "Members of the new government will be chosen based not only on their political party affiliation but also on their abilities as technocrats. It is not good enough to be just one or the other because we have party members that can offer both. Also, independent people will be given posts and the posts don't necessarily have to be ministerial, they could be other positions such as deputies or the general leadership."

Mr Ali said the 'fifty-fifty' power-sharing mechanism of the unified government of the early 1990s would not be repeated. This new government would be based on proper institutions, and the parliament would be strong and effective so that it performs checks and balances on the government.

Source: Kurdistan Regional Government