The Iraqi Kurdish administration is currently working on a new cabinet with reduced portfolios.

The Kurdistan Democracy Party (KDP) and The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have agreed to reduce the number of seats in the cabinet from the current 40 to 20 or 22.

The Kurdistan Regional Government led by Nechirvan Barzani was appointed on May 2006.

Nechirvan Barzani will lead the new cabinet but with reduced cabinet seats.

KDP leader and regional president Massoud Barzani has met Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq and also the leader of the PUK in Dukan last week and the two discussed the new cabinet.

This means the KDP and the PUK will give up some cabinet seats.

Sources say the KDP and PUK leaders will nominate some candidates for cabinet seats and Nechirvan Barzani will make his choice.

Kurdish sources say the tricky bit is to convince other Kurdish and local parties who have cabin et portfolios to give up some of their seats.

The New Kurdish cabinet is expecetd to be announced late this month.