BAGHDAD, May 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani welcomed a high-level delegation of Kurdish lawmakers from the Turkish Parliament Thursday in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Talabani, a Kurd, welcomed senior officials from Turkey including Ahmed Turk, the head of the Party for Democratic Society, to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, Voices of Iraq said. The meeting was held in Sulaymaniyah.
"The meeting dwelt on the latest developments in the two countries and the importance to boost bilateral relations as well as supporting democracy and human rights," a statement from Talabani's office read.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh urged Parliament to pass a measure to allocate resources from the federal budget to national reconstruction programs.
Saleh said the Maliki administration urged Parliament to "provide the required allocations … in the shortest time" possible.
The Iraqi government, Saleh said, is looking for ways to invest the budget surplus to rebuild the decaying infrastructure.
