Iraq
Bassem al-Awadi, the spokesperson for the Iraqi government speaking to Rudaw on April 22, 2024. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq signed a multi-billion dollar strategic water agreement with Turkey on Monday, following a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in Baghdad. The deal could put an end to the country’s water crisis according to the Iraqi government’s spokesperson.
“On the water file, an agreement was reached to sign a strategic water agreement between Iraq and Turkey,” Bassem al-Awadi, the spokesperson for the Iraqi government told Rudaw on Monday, stating that the agreement will help resolve the water crisis in the country.
Awadi said that a joint Iraqi-Turkish fund in which Iraq will deposit sold oil money will be created, with the money then being invested in projects such as dams, canalized rivers, power generation, and pumping stations.
“We are embarking on a massive project worth several billion dollars with the help of Turkish companies, which will help in solving the water crisis in Iraq in a correct way,” Awadi said.
Following their meeting, Sudani and Erdogan announced the signing of the framework agreement to resolve the water issue.
Sudani said that the cooperation between the two countries in line with the agreement includes “common projects that will help in the improvement of water management in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers," adding that the agreement would be valid for 10 years from the time of implementation.
Baghdad has complained that Ankara has reduced the flow of water in the shared Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which Turkey has dammed, contributing to water shortages in Iraq.
Iraq’s Water Resources Minister Aoun Diab told Rudaw in February that as per an agreement struck between Iraq and Turkey in 2023, the Turkish government is “required to release 500 cubic meters of water per second as a minimum and of these 260 cubic meters should reach Iraq.” The minister stated that the flow of water from Turkey to Iraq has dramatically decreased in recent years, especially in 2022 when waterflow to Iraq was at only 180 cubic meters of water.
The two sides have met several times in order to discuss the matter in the past, ultimately failing to reach any final agreement. In March 2023, Sudani traveled to Ankara in the hope of reaching an agreement to increase the release of water. Erdogan agreed to double the water released into the Tigris River for one month.
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. A report by the Ministry of Water Resources last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, the two rivers will be completely dry by 2040.
Development Road
Another topic of discussion between Ankara and Baghdad is the multibillion-dollar Development Road between Iraq and Turkey, which Awadi labeled “one of the most important projects.”
The Development Road project, stretching from southern Iraq to the border with Turkey, aims to connect the Persian Gulf with Turkey, significantly enhance Iraq’s geopolitical stance, and generate economic gains for Baghdad. When completed, the project will also shorten the travel time between Asia and Europe.
Awadi said that today the transport minister of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also present in Baghdad to strike a deal regarding the project with both Iraq and Turkey.
“Four sides will sign an agreement to kickstart the Iraqi Development Road, and move on to the next step,” Awadi said, adding that soon, joint Iraqi and Turkish committees will be formed to start working on the project.
PKK presence in the Kurdistan Region
Border security and the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region were also discussed in the meeting between Sudani and Erdogan.
“We told them [Turkey] that the [Iraqi] National Security Council describes the PKK as a prohibited party,” Awadi said, adding that Iraq’s approach to the PKK will be similar to the security pact with Iran.
Turkey regularly bombards the mountains of the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting the PKK, an outlawed Kurdish armed group.
A high-level Turkish delegation, which included Ankara’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of the intelligence agency (MIT), visited Baghdad in March, holding the second round of a top security meeting with their Iraqi counterparts. The first round of the security talks was held in Ankara in December.
Following the meeting, the Iraqi National Security Council announced banning the PKK from operating in the country, for the first time since the emergence of the group.
"Each member of the PKK in Iraq is considered a political asylum seeker, but they will be banned from partisan and political work as well as bearing arms," Awadi said.
Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning and is later set to travel to Erbil to meet Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. He is heading a delegation of at least eight ministers.
Kurdish oil exports
Another crucial topic expected to be discussed during the visit is the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, halted for over a year after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014. The ruling has rendered the Iraq-Turkey pipeline unusable.
Despite several talks between Kurdish, Iraqi, and Turkish officials, the exports have yet to resume and many international oil companies have suspended production. Over 11 billion dollars in revenue have been lost.
“Turkey informed Iraq over a month ago that they are ready to pump oil through their pipelines to the Ceyhan Port. Therefore, the problem has ended and there is no problem now,” Awadi said.
The issue now lies between the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the International Oil Companies (IOC) in the Kurdistan Region, according to Awadi
“According to the new directives, these companies must conduct business with the federal government and the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). Consequently, new contracts, agreements, and negotiations should ensue,” he said.
The KRG and IOCs are bound by Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs). Under the Kurdistan Region’s PSC model, the IOCs cover the entire cost of production while the KRG receives the lion’s share of the profits from successful projects.
Baghdad has repeatedly said that the PSCs between the IOCs and the KRG constitute a violation of the Iraqi constitution, stressing that the contracts need to be amended into service contracts such as the ones in federal Iraq before exports could resume.
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