Turkish promises to increase water releases during the next two days

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[size=52]Turkish promises to increase water releases during the next two days[/size]

[size=45]During the next two days, Iraq is awaiting the implementation of Turkish promises to increase water releases, and a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Water Resources confirms that the indicators indicate the continuation of dry seasons for the coming years, which requires taking many measures in terms of reducing waste and adapting to changes, pointing out that the Iranian side continues to ignore the measures taken. Dialogues about sharing the damage and cutting off two rivers, the first affecting the Al-Hawizeh Marsh, and the second affecting the salinity rate in the Shatt Al-Arab.[/size]
[size=45]The Director-General of the National Center for Water Resources Management, Hatem Hamid, said that "a phone call took place recently between the special envoy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid added, "The phone call discussed the current water situation and the impact of scarcity on the Tigris and Euphrates basins, in both Turkey and Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the minister asked the Turkish envoy to increase water releases during the next stage, especially the next two months, given the high temperatures in Iraq for the purpose of alleviating the current shortage."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid explained, "The Turkish envoy promised us that he would coordinate with the General Authority for Dams and Water in his country for the purpose of increasing the releases, and we look forward to achieving the increase within three days."[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, "Last year witnessed a strong and good relationship with the Turkish technical side," and he talked about "holding joint meetings before the summer plan, and there was an exchange of information and benefiting from the Turkish operational plans, and based on which we developed the internal plan."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid stressed that "Iraq has been waiting for a Turkish delegation since last May; To discuss these operational plans and agree on a plan to operate the Ilisu dam launches, but this did not happen.”[/size]
[size=45]And he continues, that "a preliminary approval was obtained for the visit of an Iraqi technical delegation to see on the ground the Turkish dams, especially the Ilisu and Ataturk dams, to review their reserves, discuss and discuss water releases and work to increase them to meet the needs of Iraq during this period."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid added, "The Turkish side confirmed that it has water scarcity, especially on the Euphrates River, and its needs from the Tigris River are few, due to the lack of their projects on this river, and that all the storage can be passed to Iraq because there is no need for it," stressing that "the Ministry hopes That Turkey fulfill its promises and help Iraq in its water crisis[/size]
[size=45]He stated, "The Iranian side ignores holding technical meetings to discuss the outstanding problems regarding the rivers shared with Iraq, and we got promises a month ago to hold a meeting, but that did not happen until the present time."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid added, "The Karkheh River is completely cut off, although it has a direct impact on the flood levels in the Al-Huwaiza Marsh, in addition to cutting off the Karun River, which has a direct impact on the levels of salt in the Shatt Al-Arab, in addition to a decrease in the Diyala River releases to 20%."[/size]
[size=45]And he indicated, "The ministry has not yet received any answer from the Iranian side regarding the reasons for cutting these rivers or anything related to the possibility of conducting a technical dialogue."[/size]
[size=45]Hamid added, “Global weather forecasts indicate that Iraq will face years of water scarcity in the coming years. We need actual measures from the government to ensure water rights, adapt to the current changes, rationalize consumption in the agricultural, industrial and municipal sectors, and reduce water waste in networks so that we can deal with less revenue.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the expert on water affairs, Nasir Abdul-Ridha, said that "the Iraqi government has not succeeded so far in finding solutions with neighboring countries regarding the water file, and the problems are constantly increasing."[/size]
[size=45]And he called, "to assign the issue of water to experts who can manage the crisis, especially in light of the current weather conditions and the ongoing drought."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The Turkish side was not satisfied with reducing the water revenues on Iraq, but also established new dams, and we are talking about the Al-Jazrah irrigation dam, and its danger is different from the rest of the dams whose purpose was to generate electricity only."[/size]
[size=45]According to observers, Turkey intends to cut off 56 percent of the Tigris River supply, by insisting on the construction of the Al-Jazira dam near the Iraqi border, using the water for irrigation purposes. The ministers revealed that the water storage has decreased to less than 17 billion cubic metres.[/size]
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