Baghdad: Economic Expert Dhirgham Muhammad Ali confirmed today, Wednesday, that haphazard water policies have placed Iraq in a weak position among riparian states. In a statement to the Iraqi National News Agency (NINA), Muhammad Ali said, “Five decades of neglect in the water resources sector have led to its deterioration, in addition to the continued reliance on traditional irrigation methods for more than 90% of agricultural lands.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Muhammad Ali pointed out that the Iraqi negotiator on water issues is in a weak position due to poor governance within the country and the lack of effective projects to curb waste in irrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation, except on a limited scale. Furthermore, the use of fresh water for reservoir injection in oil fields causes significant waste.

He added, “The agreement between Iraq and Turkey must be followed by the formation of joint Iraqi-Turkish expert committees and an international advisory committee to ensure transparency in the work.” He explained that Turkey had consistently pointed to Iraq’s mismanagement of its water resources in all water negotiations, therefore the current agreement must be made to serve the interests of both countries, leading to sound management of water resources and eliminating anything that pollutes the water sector in Iraq.

Iraq and Turkey signed the implementation mechanism for the framework cooperation agreement in the field of water between the two countries last Sunday. The mechanism was signed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated that “the agreement will be one of the sustainable solutions to the water crisis in Iraq, through a package of large-scale joint projects that will be implemented in the water sector to address and manage the water scarcity crisis.”