Turkey to increase water flow into Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey has pledged to increase its release of water downstream into the drought-struck Iraq, the Iraqi water ministry said on Saturday, days after the minister hit back at a Turkish diplomat over water wastage claims.

"The Turkish side pledged during the meeting to increase water flow to Iraq to bypass the scarcity crisis it is suffering from," Ali Radi, the water ministry spokesperson told state media, following a virtual meeting between Iraq's water resources minister and the Turkish special presidential envoy for Iraq. 

On Tuesday, Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Ali Riza Guney absolved Ankara of any blame for an alarming water shortage currently plaguing Iraq, blaming the shortage on Iraq and saying that "water is largely wasted in Iraq" while suggesting Iraq needs to maximize its water efficiency. 

His claims were slammed hours after by Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid al-Hamdani, who labeled the Turkish diplomat's remarks as "incorrect" and called on Iraq's foreign ministry to summon the ambassador for his statements.  

Radi added that the meeting "discussed the status of water imports of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers entering Iraq," and the Iraqi side agreed to abide by the "policy of dialogue and understandings with upstream countries."

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.

However, the issue is exacerbated by the Turkish and Iranian damming of rivers that flow into Iraq, cutting off the increasingly dry nation from much-needed water relief. Ankara has built a mega-dam on the Tigris River.

A senior advisor at the Iraqi water resources ministry warned in April that the country's water reserves have halved since last year, due to a combination of drought, lack of rainfall, and declining water levels.