Iraqi PM, president discuss water, security following Turkish FM visit

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and President Abdul Latif Rashid held a meeting on Thursday, stressing the need to find a solution for Iraq’s water issue, and reiterating their refusal of any “encroachment” on Iraqi soil, following a visit from Turkey’s foreign minister where similar topics were addressed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday and held talks with Iraq’s top officials, discussing various topics, mainly Iraq’s share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and Ankara’s renewed call on Iraq to designate the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization.

Sudani and Rashid “engaged in discussions about border security, emphasizing the prevention of encroachments on Iraqi lands and national sovereignty. They also addressed the pressing issue of water scarcity in the country and its impact on citizens' lives,” read a statement from their offices.

In a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Tuesday, Fidan called on Baghdad to recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization, saying the group has infiltrated Iraqi cities and poses a threat to its security and stability.

He called the PKK a “common enemy,” saying that Baghdad and Ankara must not allow the group “to poison our bilateral relations.”

Fidan echoed similar calls during his visit to Erbil on Thursday.

The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, who has launched several operations targeting the group and its alleged offshoots in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.

Iraq has long accused Turkey of cutting its fair share of water by building dams and restricting water flow from the waterways - considered crucial lifelines by Baghdad for supplying its citizens with the increasingly scarce resource. Ankara, in turn, has accused Baghdad of failing to efficiently manage its water share and wasting the resource.

During their meetings with Fidan, both Sudani and Rashid stressed importance of reaching an understanding between Baghdad and Ankara to ensure that Iraq was receiving its fair share of the water, while affirming that Iraq has made serious efforts to rationalize its water use and rehabilitate its systems.

Fidan told the Iraqi leaders that Ankara is determined to find “radical solutions” for Iraq’s water shortage, according to a statement from Rashid’s office.

The Iraqi premier and president also addressed the upcoming provincial council elections, highlighting the importance of the Iraqi public’s participation in the democratic process. Supporting the government’s program to boost the economy, and the latest regional developments were also discussed during Thursday’s meeting.

Provincial council elections are set to be held in December across all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region. Provincial elections were last held in 2013, without Kirkuk.

The councils are powerful bodies that hold significant power in the country, including setting the budgets for several sectors such as education, health, and transport. They were dissolved in 2019, in response to demands by the Tishreen protesters who criticized the system for its failures and for enabling corruption.

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