The visit of a delegation from the National Iraqi Alliance, which represents prominent Shiite parties, to Erbil has restored hope in a Shiite-Kurdish alliance and placated the heightened tensions between both parties. Moreover, it opened the door for finding a solution to the current political deadlock.

A news release issued by the presidency of the Iraqi Kurdistan region noted that a high-level delegation from the National Iraqi Alliance had visited the Kurdistan region to hold discussions with the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, regarding the political impasse in Iraq and the relationship between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The news release described the meeting as a candid dialogue, in which they discussed the deep crises and ways to manage and deal with them, in addition to solutions.

The Shiite delegation — which included Khaled Atiya, deputy-head of the National Iraqi Alliance; Hadi al-Amiri, the federal government’s minister of transport; and Tarek Najem, a member of the Islamic Dawa Party — held a second meeting with the committee that is charged with drafting agreements between the region and the federal government. This committee was formed by Kurdish leadership and includes representatives of Kurdish powers in Baghdad. It also includes representatives from the two main parties in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region — the Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani — in addition to members of the reform coalition and the Kurdistan Islamic Union.  The two parties discussed current political crises and solution mechanisms. At the end of the meeting, all participants reiterated the importance of expanding and maintaining dialogue.