Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue in Najaf hosted the Minister of Water Resources, Eng. Awn Dhiab Abdullah, in a symposium entitled: “Water Resources in Iraq: Stormy Files and Deferred Solutions”, during which he delivered a lecture in the distinguished presence of academics, specialists, employees of the relevant departments in the governorate, and media professionals.
Minister Abdullah spoke about a number of issues related to the water file in Iraq, pointing out that the percentage of water imports in Iraq today is the lowest since 1930.
The Minister presented some successful international experiences in rationalizing water use, including finding modern irrigation methods.
He stressed the importance of enacting the Water Resources Law, which would chart and ration the use of water and the quotas for each of the governorates of Iraq.
He also stressed the importance of benefiting from groundwater in Iraq as a source of support for surface water, which is characterized by decreasing day after day.
The Minister touched on the problems facing water resources in Iraq caused by the downstream countries, especially Turkey, pointing to the importance of working with international agreements that provide for the sharing of damage between the riparian countries.
He stressed that the data indicates that these countries do not deal positively in their dealings with the water file, as stipulated in the agreements and international law.
On the file of dams and their development, the Minister of Water Resources affirmed his Ministry’s proposal to build 20 dams in order to move towards investing in clean energy.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency