Kurdistan Iraq Demands Representation in Water Negotiations
Recently, the Iraqi Deputy Minister of Water Resources,
Raed Al-Jashami, announced an agreement with Turkey and Iran to hold a
specialized technical meeting in the near future to discuss the water file.
This comes at a time when the country is facing the danger of drought.
The Iraqi News Agency, WAA, quoted Al-Jashami as saying
that Baghdad has informed the upstream countries of the need to move towards
permanent agreements and close the chapter of temporary agreements that were
previously made, due to the changing water situation.
This step comes as Iraq faces a water shortage problem
amid the risks of worsening drought with declining rainfall rates and low water
levels from neighboring countries that supply the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
particularly Iran and Turkey, making Iraq the "fifth most affected country
in the world" by climate change, according to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water
Resources in the Kurdistan Region has requested the federal government to have
its representative in international negotiations on water, especially with
Turkey and Iran.
Karim Sulaiman, Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the
region, stated in press statements that the Minister of Water Resources and
Agriculture in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Bakr Talabani, attended a
committee meeting on water at the Iraqi level, chaired by Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, two days ago.
A Common Issue
Mahmoud Khoshnaw, a leader in the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, explained in exclusive statements to "The Reference" the
reasons behind the region's demand for representation in water negotiations,
considering it a common issue. He pointed out that a meeting was held under the
chairmanship of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani and with the
presence of the Minister of Agriculture in the region, regarding the water
issue and the negotiation process with Iran and Turkey as the upstream
countries.
Khoshnaw clarified that the demand was made for the
participation of the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Bakr
Talabani, in the negotiations, as the rivers and tributaries that enter Iraqi
territories pass through the Kurdistan Region, whether they come from Iran or
Turkey.
He added that the first major dams in Iraq are located in
the Kurdistan Region, so in order to deal with the issue of the source, outlet,
watercourse, and the areas through which the water passes in Iraq, it is
necessary for the region to have a say. He pointed out that the water issue in
Iraq is a federal matter within the authority of the federal government, and
there is an intention by the Iraqi government to build new dams in order to
control floods, torrents, and benefit from them in other matters, given the
decline in water levels in Iraq.
Khoshnaw further explained that there is a practical
approach to providing agricultural water in Iraq and resolving problems with
Turkey and Iran regarding the issue of water shares, navigation, and water
poverty. He noted that all these matters have become a necessity for Iraq and
have become priorities for the Iraqi government as well as the Kurdistan
Regional Government. Therefore, demanding representation for the region is a
positive and new step.
Khoshnaw clarified that after the demand of the Kurdistan
Region to be represented in water negotiations with the upstream countries, the
Council of Ministers agreed to include the Kurdistan Region delegation or
representative as part of the negotiating delegation with Turkey and Iran
regarding the water file.
