According to NRT during the meeting, the two interior ministers will discuss the Kurdistan Region’s border crossings and customs procedures.

In recent weeks, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has made it a personal priority to reassert state control at Iraq’s border crossings, many of which are controlled by militias, tribes, or political parties who expropriate customs income and allow smuggling.

In the Kurdistan Region, the crossings are controlled either by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

While Kadhimi has sent the security forces to crossings in southern and central Iraq and has toured some of the secured sites himself, he has not used the same tactics in the Kurdistan Region.

Al-Ghanmi and Ahmed are also expected to discuss the issue of public sector employees who work in the Kurdistan Region, but whose salaries are paid by the federal government.

Earlier, a delegation of the federal Ministry of Defense visited Erbil and met with a number of officials from the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.

Reporter’s code: 50101