Iraq, Turkiye agree pact on water management

Shafaq News - Baghdad

Iraq and Turkiye signed a “historical document on water management,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Sunday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Hussein noted that discussions with the Turkish delegation also addressed broader bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them.

Fidan, in turn, said that future generations ''would not face the same water-related challenges,'' stressing the need for a rational and efficient management of transboundary waters among all states along the shared watercourse.

The meeting comes as Iraq continues to face a severe water crisis. Earlier, Iraqi authorities warned that the country could lose up to 20% of its water resources by 2035 due to climate change, upstream dam projects, and aging infrastructure.

However, a 2024 report from the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources attributed the crisis largely to reduced inflows from Turkiye. While normal releases from the Mosul Dam are expected to reach 350 cubic meters per second, current flows have dropped to 210, with only 130 cubic meters coming from across the border.

Read more: Iraq’s southern drought: Policy paralysis and upstream pressures deepen rural collapse