Kurdish PM says new govt. to include 19 ministries

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Barham Saleh, on Wednesday said that his new government will include 19 ministries, adding that competence will be the main criterion for nomination. This came during a press conference held today after he, along with his deputy, Azad Barwari, was assigned to form a new government for the region. Saleh vowed to carry out the platform of the Kurdistan List, which he announced during the election campaign. “The new Kurdish government will start its work relying on the significant gains made by the previous governments, most prominently that led by my brother and friend Negervan al-Barazani…,” Saleh said. Earlier today, the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Massoud al-Barazani, assigned Saleh and his deputy to form a new government for the region during a meeting at the Salah al-Din resort, Arbil province. SS (P)/SR 1