Syria, Iraq discuss enhancing cooperation on shared water resources
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Syria and Iraq called relevant parties to respect international agreements on the construction of dams and shared river water between upstream and downstream states, a semi-official newspaper said on Sunday.
The al-Watan newspaper reported the Syrian Prime Minister, Hussein Arnous, met with the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Diab Abdullah, to discuss the potential of enhancing cooperation between the two countries to address drought and climate issues.
The Chargé d’Affairs in the Embassy of Iraq in Damascus, Yassin Sharif al-Hujaimi, told al-Watan that they discussed water rations coming from Tigris and Euphrates River through Syrian territory towards Iraq.
Arnous said in light of the declining quantities of water, Syria would provide it to Iraq.
He pointed out that currently water coming from the upstream state, Turkey, is less than 300 cubic meters per second. The agreed upon ration of water for Syria and Iraq is 500 cubic meters per second.
Since February 2020, Turkey has continued to limit water flow of the Euphrates River to Syria amid warnings from regional and global countries of a possible health and agricultural catastrophe in the region.