Hassan Hafidh
Reuters
September 17, 2003

Iraq said its share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates was not enough and it wanted talks with Turkey and Syria, who also use water from the rivers.

“We are intending to hold talks with our neighbors very soon to reach an agreement that divides water among the three of us in a just manner,” said newly appointed Minister of Water Resources Abdul Latif Rasheed.

The Euphrates and Tigris both originate in Turkey. The Euphrates winds through Syria before entering Iraq, while the Tigris flows straight into Iraq from Turkey.

“I believe the quantity of water entering to our territory is not enough,” Rasheed said.

Syria and Iraq both say the current flow from Turkey is too low for their needs, which include drinking and irrigation as well as some power generation.

Iraq, Turkey, and Syria have held several meetings in the past on water-sharing, and Rasheed blamed the ousted government of Saddam Hussein for their failure to reach a deal.

“Because of its bad relations with its neighbours, the former government couldn’t reach an agreement on water quotas,” Rasheed said. “Now we have a different strategy. We want to improve our ties with our neighbors.”

Saddam’s government used to accuse Turkey of blocking efforts to reach a water-sharing accord.

Restore Marshes

Rasheed also said he had asked the U.S.-backed Governing Council for US$1 billion to carry out water resources projects in Iraq for 2004.

Among those projects are efforts to restore marshes in southern Iraq that Saddam’s government drained in the 1990s as part of a campaign to drive out Marsh Arabs, who had supported an uprising against his rule.

“We have already started pumping water in that area in order to restore the marshes. It will take time, but we aim to restore all of the marsh area in southern Iraq,” Rasheed said.