MOWR: Iraqi delegation will visit Turkey to discuss three files

INA – BAGHDAD
 
Ministry of Water Resources – MOWR announced on Monday, that an Iraqi technical delegation will visit Turkey soon to discuss three files, while setting a date for increasing water releases by the Turkish side.
 
A phone call took place two days ago between the Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani and the envoy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where the water situation was discussed, according to a statement by the Director-General of the National Center for Water Resources Management in the ministry, Hatem Hamid to Al-Iraqiya News TV, followed by the Iraqi News Agency – INA.
 
During the call, Iraq demanded to increase water releases to Iraq during the next two months to alleviate the water scarcity where the Turkish side promised to increase releases and witness an increase within 3 or 4 days.
 
"An Iraqi technical delegation will visit Turkey soon to see the Turkish dams and the storage available in them in the field, as well as to discuss the Turkish plan for water releases and try to increase the releases to meet the needs of Iraq during this period," he noted, expressing his hope that "there will be communication and cooperation with the Turkish side in this matter.”
 
Regarding the Iranian talks, he stated that "there are no discussions with the Iranian side so far regarding Iraq's water quotas," noting that "the Karkheh River, which feeds the Huwaiza River, is cut off, as well as the Karun River, which affects the salts in the Shatt al-Arab, with the Diyala River emissions reduced to 20% of the general average.”
 
Hamid stressed that "the coming years will face successive water scarcity," stressing the need for "actual measures by the government at a foreign level, adapting to climate change, and to rationalize water consumption including reducing water wastage."