Iraq, Syria unify stances on water shares
The Tigris River. Photo: National Geographic
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq and Syria agreed to unify stances regarding water shares to obtain their water rights in light of the declined water quantities reaching Iraq and the climate change, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The activities of the ninth edition of the joint Iraqi-Syrian meeting on the International Hydrological Program (IHP), taking place in the Syrian capital, Damascus, were concluded, according to INA.
The meeting was chaired by the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, and his Syrian counterpart, Tammam Raad, and other officials from both sides, according to a press statement issued on Saturday by the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources.
The statement indicated that both sides stressed the need to continue joint work to reach the desired results, and to unify stances to obtain the two countries’ water rights especially with the lack of water quantities and climate change.
The statement confirmed that both sides, at the end of the meeting, signed an agreement recommending the implementation of water resources integrated management, achievement of sustainable developmental goals, adoption of technology, and confronting the negative impacts of climate change.
The statement also mentioned that the coming meeting of the program will take place in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in the near future.
Both Damascus and Baghdad accuse the Turkey of reducing the rate of water releases from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the thing that negatively affects the water shares coming to both countries.