Turkey has not adhered to the agreement signed with Iraq during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad last April, despite Iraq’s recourse to the Manama accords to ensure its water rights.
Amid Turkey’s intransigence, Rafiq Al-Salhi, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Marshlands, today called on the government to leverage the economic card against Turkey to secure the country’s interests.
Iraq sources 70% of its water from outside its borders, prompting the government to seek coordination with upstream countries regarding water revenues.
In a statement followed by “Al-Alem Al-Jadeed,” Al-Salhi said, “Turkey has not committed to releasing Iraq’s water quotas and has not responded to the Iraqi government’s negotiations and calls for water releases.”
He emphasized the necessity of “using the economic file to pressure the upstream countries to increase Iraq’s water share,” noting that “the drought and water scarcity crisis directly threatens the stability of life for residents in southern Iraq, causing significant material losses.”
He added, “The economic card is the strongest, and the government could use it to pressure Turkey to release larger quantities of water to Iraq.”
The final statement of the Arab Summit held in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on May 16, underscored that Arab water security is an integral part of Arab national security, particularly for Egypt and Sudan concerning the Nile waters, and also for Syria and Iraq regarding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The summit expressed solidarity with these countries in taking any actions they deem necessary to protect their water security and interests, voicing deep concern over ongoing unilateral measures that could harm their water interests.
On April 22, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad for the first time in 13 years. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani described Erdogan’s visit as “not a passing one,” emphasizing that it would, for the first time, involve solutions rather than merely deferring crises. Iraq signed 26 agreements and memorandums of understanding with Turkey, addressing various fields, with a prominent agreement on water resource management.
Despite the official welcome, the agreement sparked anger among water experts due to its failure to resolve the dispute over whether the Tigris and Euphrates are domestic or international rivers and the lack of clarity in specifying the quantities of water to be released to Iraq. Ankara considers the Tigris and Euphrates as domestic Turkish rivers, not international ones.
During Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad, Al-Sudani announced the signing of a quadripartite memorandum of understanding between Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE for cooperation on the “Development Road Project.” A joint statement mentioned that this strategic project would stimulate
economic growth, enhance regional and international cooperation through economic integration, and pursue a sustainable economy between the East and the West. It will also boost international trade, facilitate mobility and commerce, provide a competitive new transport route, and promote regional economic prosperity.
A report from UNESCO, issued on April 1, warned that Iraq might face a water war by 2050.
It is noted that rising temperatures in Iraq have led to a significant decrease in annual rainfall, currently at 30 percent, with expectations that this will drop to 65 percent by 2050.
Iraq has long complained about Turkey’s unfair water policies, which involve building numerous dams on the Tigris River, significantly reducing Iraq’s water quotas. Additionally, Iran has diverted the course of more than 30 rivers within its territory to prevent water from reaching Iraq. The situation has been exacerbated by severe droughts and low rainfall over the past four years, worsening the country’s environmental and agricultural conditions.
The total volume of water from the Tigris and Euphrates has significantly decreased, from 93.47 billion cubic meters in 2019 to 49.59 billion cubic meters in 2020, mainly due to the actions of upstream countries.
Iraq loses 100 square kilometers of arable land annually due to desertification. A report from the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources concludes that severe droughts expected until 2025 will lead to the complete drying up of the Euphrates River in its southern sector, while the Tigris River will turn into a watercourse with limited resources.
