Baghdad – WAA – Hassan Al-Fawaz
Today, Wednesday, the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, Baris Akinci, revealed Iraqi-Turkish talks on the water file and the desire to develop an integrated plan to deal with this file and eliminate the challenges, while she indicated that the release of water will depend on the rainy seasons.
Akinci told the (INA): “The second meeting held recently for the permanent joint committee between Iraq and Turkey discussed the water file, and before that, a first meeting was held last November, on the sidelines of the Turkish President’s visit to Iraq, and a memorandum of understanding with strategic foundations in the field of water was also signed.”
She added, “Turkey considers water an area of cooperation and attaches great importance to the work of the Joint Permanent Committee. We attended the second meeting with a delegation that included all parties concerned with the water file, and we see this file as an area of cooperation, and we express this on every occasion, as many topics were addressed within the framework of the second meeting of the Permanent Committee, including the issue of evaporation and the effective and efficient use of water and other new projects.”
She added, “The discussions on the use and management of water between Iraq and Turkey took into consideration the issue of climate change, as according to international reports, Turkey is located in the Mediterranean region, which is one of the regions most affected by climate change.”
She pointed out that “the water file is not a file of disagreement, but rather a file of cooperation, and for this reason Turkey is working with Iraq to reach a common vision and develop a plan for the effective use of water, taking into account the challenges.”
She added, “The water flow depends largely on seasonal rains and snowfall, which play a very important role in increasing releases. Although rainfall is limited in some seasons, more water can be released thanks to dams, and the function of dams is to regulate the flow of water.”
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that “the amount of water released increases according to the seasons, and in years with abundant rainfall, the amount of water released is also high.”
She stressed, “We will work throughout our meetings to achieve the agreed-upon outcome within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding. They have full determination and desire to advance and achieve effective results in the field of water, similar to those achieved through cooperation in the field of agriculture.”