“We have agreed to the formation of a permanent joint committee on water,” Fidan told Fuad Hussein, adding that the water issue in Iraq was “comprehensively” discussed and Ankara is aware of the water shortage in the country.
Fidan arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday for the first time since becoming foreign minister and held talks with Hussein. He is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and other senior officials on Wednesday before traveling to Erbil the following day to meet with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Iraq has long accused Turkey of cutting its fair share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by building mega dams and restricting water flow from the waterways – considered crucial lifelines by Baghdad for supplying its citizens with the increasingly scarce resource. Ankara, in turn, has accused Baghdad of failing to efficiently manage its water share and wasting the resource.
“Obtaining a fair share of water is one of the most important discussions with the Turkish foreign minister,” Hussein told Fidan.
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
A late March visit by Sudani to Turkey to discuss Baghdad-Ankara ties provided measurable success for Sudani after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to double the water releases from the Tigris River for a period of one month, saying the decision was made “in order to relieve Iraq’s distress.”
Water scarcity is a severe issue in Iraq. The country is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.
"We will work for the transfer of relations between the two countries to the highest levels to solve existing problems," Fidan said about Ankara-Baghdad ties, adding that Turkey “fully supports” Sudani’s government.
“We see Iraq as a reliable partner with whom we can work together to reach our strategic goals,” he continued.
Much of Iraq's agricultural lands depend on irrigation, but dams and reservoirs were at record-low levels this summer.
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) has long warned that water availability in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.