Kurdistan RegionG cuts ministries’ operational costs by 20%

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The Ministry of Finance in Iraq’s Kurdistan has decided to reduce operational costs in the region’s ministries and state departments by 20 percent in light of the drop in international oil prices. “On Wednesday, the minister of finance in the region, Bayez Talabani, met with the heads of accounting departments in the ministries to discuss the 2009 budget of Iraq and the region in light of the fall in oil prices,” according to a statement published on the official web site of the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) and received by IraqiNews.com. The Iraqi Ministry of Finance had calculated the 2009 budget based on an oil price of $80 a barrel. SS (P) 1