Iraqi delegation in Damascus to discuss water crisis
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – An official source in the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources revealed three main themes that the Iraqi minister discussed with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus two days ago, most notably the sharing of water damages.
Spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources Ali Radi told North Press that main issues discussed in thr meeting were water releases, the two countries’ share in the Euphrates River, Iraq’s share of the Tigris, and the issue of coordination between the two countries, in addition to sharing the damage between the riparian countries.
On Wednesday, an Iraqi delegation headed by the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources visited the Syrian capital Damascus and held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart.
Radi added that the meeting took place at a high level, with Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid al-Hamdani and a group of specialists in the ministry gathered with their Syrian counterparts.
The discussions of the first session focused on unifying positions, the issue of water releases and sharing damage under conditions of water scarcity and climate change as well as other technical matters affecting the water issue.
They discussed during the meeting the possibility of holding a Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi meeting “to exchange information and operational plans and unify the vision in order to achieve the interest of Syria and Iraq in water quotas,”according to the Iraqi ministry spokesman.
Since mid-February, Turkey has been reducing the volume of the Euphrates River’s water flow into Syria, which led to widespread contamination of drinking water in most areas of northeastern Syria, in addition to the increase in the hours of power rationing and the lack of water for irrigation of crops in the Euphrates basin.
According to the agreement signed between Syria and Turkey in 1987 related to the Euphrates River, Syria’s share of water coming from Turkey is 500m³ per second, and Syria now receive only 200m³, according to administrators in Tishrin Dam.
Iraqi areas are also witnessing water scarcity, which has caused damage to the agricultural sector, in a recurring scene such as the drought that hit the Tigris River in 2018, when Turkey began filling the newly built Ilisu Dam.