From Ankara, al-Sudani reiterates his government’s commitment to Iraq’s water security

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani took to Twitter on Wednesday to reaffirm his government’s commitment to regulating water consumption and securing Iraq’s water resources.

The tweet came on the occasion of World Water Day, which is celebrated annually on March 22 to highlight the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of water resources.

“On World Water Day, we reaffirm our commitment to regulating water consumption to preserve this precious resource,” he said.

“We endeavor to secure Iraq’s water shares via talks and agreements, and we succeeded in increasing water releases from Tigris during our visit to neighboring Turkiye,” he added.

Baghdad accuses Ankara of withholding water in dams that choke the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near their point of origin in Turkey.

The issue has gained added urgency as the entire region is gripped by a years-long drought that has emptied water reservoirs and threatened food security for millions of people.

Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to step up the flow of water along the Tigris River to drought-stricken Iraq for one month.

Erdogan told the visiting premier that he was aware of the “urgent need for water” in Turkey’s war-scarred neighbour.

Official Iraqi statistics show the level of the Tigris entering the country last year dropping to just 35 percent of its average over the past century.

“For one month, we have taken the decision to increase the volume of water flowing along the Tigris River,” Erdogan told a joint media appearance with al-Sudani.

“The issue of water will hopefully be resolved,” Erdogan said.

But Erdogan’s comments received a warm welcome from the Iraqi premier during his first official visit to Turkey since assuming office last October.

“I want to express my gratitude and thanks to the president from the Iraqi people,” Sudani said.

Turkey’s relations with its neighbour have also been complicated by the presence of Kurdish insurgents from the PKK group — recognised as a terror organisation by Ankara and its Western allies — in the mountainous northern Iraq.

Erdogan repeated his demand for Iraq to recognise the PKK as a terror group.

Sudani said only that Iraq recognised Turkey’s security concerns.

“We won’t allow Iraq to be used as a launching pad for attacks on Turkey,” he said.

Turkey has dozens of military facilities in northern Iraq for use in its war against the PKK.