Kurdish political parties in northern Iraq are taking big strides in hammering out their differences in order to form a new regional government, pledging to bring stability and prosperity to the people of this semi-autonomous region.

This new opening comes at a vital time for the Kurdish people, who have endured four years of war with the Islamic State (IS), as well as a harsh financial crisis. Now that the battles with IS are over, the region's two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Movement for Change (Gorran), have locked horns over how to run the government, resulting in the closure of parliament and most ministries.

The KDP and Gorran, with the help of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), are now in the final stages of reaching an agreement that could usher in a stable government for the next four years. The KDP and PUK have also agreed to negotiate a new agreement that outlines major policy positions, thus replacing the 2005 "strategic agreement" signed by Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani. Kurdish participation in Baghdad politics, in particular the return of the KDP, is a vital component of this new beginning in Kurdistan.

“The meetings are to establish a solid foundation, to create trust, to create a strong government that could serve the people of Kurdistan,” Dana Abdulkarim, a member of the Gorran negotiating team, told reporters Jan. 22 in Erbil, after their third meeting with the KDP delegation.