Turkey and Iraq said on Friday they have prepared a draft framework on managing and sharing water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with Iraqi officials inviting Turkey to Baghdad to sign it in the near future.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the draft sets out how the two governments will manage water and defines roles for Turkish companies and state bodies.
Hussein also talked about short-term measures to address Iraq’s current water scarcity, including talks on directing and increasing near-term releases to the south.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the draft builds on a joint mechanism agreed two years ago. He said the first pillar focuses on rehabilitating Iraq’s water distribution and related infrastructure, guided by a joint working committee. He said the second pillar creates a standing consultation group to coordinate water-sharing decisions between the two sides.
Fidan said Turkish institutions, including the State Hydraulic Works and the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, are working with Iraq’s Water Resources Ministry. He said both countries face lower rainfall and reservoir levels and that long-term fixes require upgrading networks inside Iraq in addition to coordination on river flows.
The Tigris and Euphrates rise in eastern Turkey and flow through Syria and Iraq before reaching the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf. Iraq relies on the rivers for drinking water, farming and power. Lower snowpack, hotter summers and upstream storage have tightened supplies, hitting southern provinces first.
The two countries do not have a comprehensive, binding treaty that fixes annual volumes on both rivers. Past understandings include a 1987 protocol in which Turkey pledged a minimum flow on the Euphrates into Syria and a 1990 Syria-Iraq deal apportioning that flow, but these do not set detailed, basin-wide rules with Iraq and Turkey together. Disputes have sharpened during dry years and amid Turkey’s long-running dam and irrigation program in the southeast.
Iraq has pressed Turkey for predictable releases and better timing to match planting seasons. Turkey has urged Iraq to cut losses inside its system, citing leakage, unlined canals and illegal tapping that drain deliveries before they reach farms.
This comes as the two countries have pushed for better ties in the last few years, with cooperation on the planned Development Road corridor linking Iraq’s port of Basra to Turkey and Europe, and the recent restart of oil shipments through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to Ceyhan.