The relevant Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi ministers will participate in the meeting where issues concerning water and drought will be discussed, the Iraqi Water Resources Ministry announced on Monday. A committee headed by Minister Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid will represent Iraq at the meeting. Minister Rashid also attended a meeting between Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. According to the ministry's statement, the meeting is of extreme importance considering Iraq's desperate need for water.
Iraq has repeatedly asked Turkey to allow more water to flow to Iraq because of the drought which started in May, 2009. Two primary rivers flowing to Iraq from Turkey through Syria, the Euphrates and the Tigris, have failed to fully supply the water needed for arid Iraqi farmland. The water supply has decreased recently because of seasonal variations, resulting in “water crises” between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey, however, has repeatedly said that it is not a water-abundant country and that the water from the Euphrates and the Tigris is hardly enough to supply Turkey's own needs.
The Iraqi Parliament, through a law adopted in May, pushed the Iraqi government to include the water shortage problem in all meetings with the Turkish government. Iraq claims that almost half its farmers cannot access water due to Syria's and Turkey's dams on both rivers.
Ankara has already increased the water supply to Iraq from 360 cubic meters per second to 515 cubic meters per second and has increased that figure to 715 for July, August and September. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu has paid two visits to Iraq in the last two weeks having extensive discussions on the water crisis between the two countries.
