A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, Ali Radhi, revealed an upcoming visit that two feddans from Iraq will make to Turkey, and to Iran soon, to ensure Iraq’s water rights and put into effect agreements, protocols and notes for joint cooperation signed between Iraq and the two countries, indicating the existence of great cooperation and coordination between the government. The Federal Council in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the water file and water management.
Radi told Rudaw Media Network, Sunday (January 15, 2023), that “there is a very great cooperation between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the water file and water management. And the periodic meetings between the joint technical committees are continuing to agree on a mechanism or plan regarding water releases and determine priorities and requirements, in addition to joint cooperation in order to ensure the work and sustainability of the dams’ waters.
He explained that since 2017, after the earthquake, funds have been allocated for the maintenance and maintenance of dams, and in 2023 there will be great cooperation in order to complete many joints related to the process of maintaining, maintaining and rehabilitating dams, specifically technical matters. There was a meeting shortly before in the Darbandikhan Dam, as well as a high-level meeting with the Minister of Water Resources in the Kurdistan Region, in the presence of the Director General of Dams and the directors of dams. During these meetings, they discussed the mechanism of cooperation and coordination in order to carry out some work related to the study of dams and to provide detailed studies about them. With the help of major companies and experts in this field, in addition to agreeing to start work related to the Darbandikhan Dam to ensure its safety and avoid some technical problems caused by the earthquake.
A spokesman for Iraqi water resources explained that “the amount of water released from reservoirs and dams is subject to plans developed jointly to secure the needs of all provinces in Iraq. Cooperation is taking place at the highest level, and it is in the public interest,” as he put it.
And he noted that “water storage depends on the volume of water revenues, rainfall, and the total torrents entering Iraq. All of this depends on the nature of the water year, climatic conditions, and the requirements of the seasons, whether in the field of agriculture or other uses of water.
Radi stressed that “the situation of dams in Iraq is very good, all large and regulatory dams are very good, and the rehabilitation work of these dams continues throughout the year,” adding that “there is support from the central government to finance the necessary allocations for the continuation of the work and maintenance of these dams and study their reality.”
And “there is a large storage void in our dams and reservoirs for the reasons we talked about, so we had to use the existing storage,” Radi said.
With regard to negotiating the water file with neighboring countries, Radi said that the file is not born today, it dates back to decades, and it enjoys great support after the formation of the government, as a new page was opened in the water relations between Iraq and the upstream countries, and there was communication with the government of Turkey, and communication with The Islamic Republic of Iran, and agreements to hold joint technical meetings and exchange visits and information in the near future.
Rady stressed, “There is a visit that a delegation from Iraq will make to Turkey, and another visit to Iran. We have seen great government support for the water file, and the purpose of these meetings, visits and joint meetings is to guarantee Iraq’s water rights and obtain a fair share of water.” There are agreements, protocols and memorandums of joint cooperation signed between the two parties, during these meetings we seek to put them into effect.
According to Radi, there is no agreement signed in numbers on determining water shares between Iraq and Turkey, Iraq and Iran, and Iraq seeks, through its meetings with its two neighbors, to translate the signed protocols and memorandums, which include a clear clause stipulating securing a fair share of water to Iraq, into numbers to secure A fair share, whether in the pillar of the Tigris or the Euphrates.
Radi indicated, in the context of his talk about the Iraqi talks with Turkey and Iran regarding water, that “everyone knows that an agreement was signed between Iraq, Turkey and Syria on the Euphrates River to secure a share of not less than 50 cubic meters per second on the Syrian-Turkish border, and 58% of this share is for Iraq and the percentage The remaining 42% is for Syria. As for the Tigris River, we hope that an agreement will be reached during the upcoming meetings to determine a fair share for Iraq to meet its requirements.
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