Parl. votes by majority to include water share article

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday voted by majority to add an article about Iraq’s share of water to an Iraqi-Turkish agreement, according to a parliamentarian. “The Agriculture, Water and Marshes Committee held several sessions until it reached a vote that obliges the Iraqi government to add an article ensuring Iraq’s share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries, which originate in Turkey, to the comprehensive partnership agreement with Turkey,” MP Kareem al-Yaqoubi from the committee told IraqiNews.com news agency. The Iraqi Parliament will not approve the agreement unless the article is included, Yaqoubi noted. Earlier this month, the Parliament recommended the cancelation of a vote on the draft resolution on a comprehensive Iraqi-Turkish agreement due to the absence of an article stipulating Iraq’s share of water. If approved by the Parliament, the agreement will increase trade and investment between the two countries to over $20 billion U.S. dollars, Iraqi economists say. SS (S) 1