Turkey and Iraq have signed agreements on cooperation in the field of water resources, which envisage a more rational distribution of water resources between the countries and a large-scale modernization of Iraq’s water infrastructure. In Baghdad, this agreement is considered historic.
The document was signed during the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Iraq, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s page on the X social network.
“During the meeting (at the level of foreign ministers – ed.) between Turkey and Iraq, the document “Mechanism for Financing Projects under the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Water Resources” was signed,” the ministry said in a statement.
As TRT Haber notes, work on the agreement lasted 2.5 years.
“The signatures signed today will pave the way for a comprehensive modernization of Iraq’s water systems. This will be the largest infrastructure investment in the country’s history,” Fidan said at a joint press conference with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Baghdad.
The Turkish minister also stressed that his country is closely cooperating with Iraq on energy issues, including oil, gas and electricity.
“This is the first such agreement in the history of Iraqi-Turkish relations. We have come a long way in negotiations, and today we are signing a historic document,” Fuad Hussein said at a press conference.
The “financing mechanism” of the bilateral agreement determines the procedure for financing infrastructure projects, according to which the modernization of Iraq’s water systems will be carried out by Turkish companies, and payment will be made through the sale of Iraqi oil.
According to the UN, as of last year, about 170,000 people in the country, mostly in the central and southern parts of the country, were forced to leave their homes due to climate change and water shortages. Baghdad has repeatedly accused Turkey of building dams and reducing the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Due to the decrease in the amount and increase in salinity of water, agriculture is suffering significant losses. The water in the rivers is becoming unfit for drinking, domestic needs, and irrigation.
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