Baghdad: Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Shakhwan Abdullah, who leads the Iraqi delegation at the General Conference of the Asian-African Parliamentary Assembly, has emphasized Iraq’s ongoing need for support from friendly countries to address its pressing water scarcity issue and its dangerous repercussions.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Abdullah underscored the challenges Iraq has faced over the decades, including confrontations with terrorism and extremism, and the current phase of political and economic reconstruction. Despite these security challenges, he affirmed Iraq’s commitment to sovereignty, dialogue, pluralism, and coexistence. He called for international support to tackle the water scarcity problem, which he attributed to the actions of upstream countries, and stressed the importance of securing Iraq’s fair water share through treaties and agreements, independent of political or regional pressures.

Abdullah also urged the parliamentary council to become a more active platform in unifying parliamentary positions on significant issues, particularly the Palestinian cause and the blockade on Gaza. He appealed to the international community to intervene and pressure the ‘Zionist entity’ to lift the blockade and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Furthermore, Abdullah expressed the Iraqi Parliament’s desire to forge stronger partnerships with Asian and African parliaments, aiming to exchange legislative expertise and enhance laws that impact daily life. He highlighted the need to improve services and infrastructure, leveraging available resources and human potential, while advancing sustainable development strategies.

He also emphasized the importance of collective parliamentary action in addressing challenges, expanding the role of parliaments in supporting economic policies, legislating, and ratifying international agreements to promote free trade between continents, encourage investment, and ensure sustainable economic growth.