Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s government said on Friday it is taking new steps to address water scarcity, including efforts to turn a memorandum of understanding with Turkiye on river flows into a binding treaty.

Prime Minister’s adviser on water affairs, Turhan al-Mufti, told Shafaq News that the measures also involve closing illegal fish farms, revising the agricultural calendar, and expanding the use of modern irrigation.

“Iraq has no binding water agreements with its neighbors Turkiye, Iran, or Syria,” al-Mufti noted, adding that the only treaty in force is the 1946 agreement with Turkiye, signed during a period of floods and without water quota provisions, while the 1975 Algiers Agreement with Iran covered only five rivers out of more than 40 shared waterways, since abundant flows at the time reduced the need for detailed arrangements.

On domestic measures, he said the government has begun removing unauthorized fish ponds, particularly in central and southern provinces, and has endorsed a plan requiring the use of modern irrigation systems. He also underlined the need to adjust Iraq’s farming calendar and crop choices in response to climate change, noting that some crops are no longer suited to current conditions.

“Farming consumes about 70 percent of Iraq’s water supply,” al-Mufti pointed out.