Newspapers issued in Baghdad today, Thursday, August 31, focused on the exacerbation of the water crisis and called for the internationalization of its file, and followed the continuing debate over the oil and gas law..
On the issue of water, Al-Zawraa newspaper, published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, said: “The Parliamentary Agriculture, Water and Marshlands Committee warned of the worsening water scarcity crisis in the country, and while it confirmed that the continuation of the crisis threatens the agricultural and animal wealth in the country, it called on the government to internationalize the water file immediately, if Turkey does not comply with the fair shares.
A member of the Parliamentary Agriculture and Water Committee, Rafiq Al-Salhi, said in a statement to the newspaper: “The three presidencies were briefed on the ground about the suffering of the central and southern governorates due to the water crisis,” noting: “The water releases are 500 cubic meters from the Turkish side, which does not meet the needs of Iraq.”
He added: “The Turkish dams have a major impact on Iraq, and Ankara has not adhered to international agreements regarding water quotas.”
He continued: “The agricultural and livestock wealth in Iraq has been greatly affected by Turkey’s lack of commitment to the water file. We will internationalize the water file if Turkey does not commit to releasing fair water quotas for Iraq.”
He stated: “The negotiations with the Turkish side require precision in more than one area, as Turkey has encroached on Iraqi territory by about 90 km.” Emphasizing: Turkey knows well the important files in Iraq, and we are optimistic that the Prime Minister will negotiate with it.”
Regarding the same topic, Al-Zaman newspaper said: “The Baghdad Palace meeting, which was held with the permanent special envoy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq for water affairs, in the presence of the Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Dhiab, and the Environment, Nizar Amidi, resulted in positive understandings focusing on confronting desertification and drought with joint actionable cooperation projects .
And it quoted a presidential statement: “The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, stressed, during his meeting with the Turkish envoy for water affairs, Veysel Eroglu accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes experts and consultants specialized in the field of water, dams, irrigation, agriculture and environmental energy, that the relations between the two countries are deep and historical, and that the problems related to the water situation is not difficult or impossible to solve, but it requires serious decisions that are in the interest of both countries.”
The statement added, “The meeting stressed the importance of developing and strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the field of joint cooperation in the water file, and working to update joint understandings and agreements in this regard, in a manner that achieves the interests of the two friendly countries and peoples.”
It continued: “The meeting came out with an agreement to present a set of proposals, including confronting the water crisis, for the purpose of discussing and agreeing on it and reaching a final, implementable result, with regard to water shares.”
The newspaper quoted the Turkish envoy for water affairs, Veysel Eroglu as confirming that his country is looking forward to serious and fruitful cooperation in the water file to reach positive understandings that serve the higher interests of the two neighboring countries, stressing President Erdogan’s focus on the importance of paying exceptional attention to Iraq’s water needs.
As for Al-Sabah newspaper, which is published by the Iraqi Media Network, it continued to follow the ongoing debate about the oil and gas law and the date of its approval.
In this regard, the newspaper said: “Despite the passage of years of talking about the oil and gas law and the wrangling over it, it is still a draft with the government and has not been completed yet.”
It added: “Many attribute the reason for the delay in enacting this important law to the political dimension that is governed by consensus among all parties to the political process, while it is being relied upon that the law will be approved in the current parliamentary session if it is completed by the government.”
A member of the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee in the House of Representatives, Sabah Sobhi, told Al-Sabah: “The oil and gas law is still in the process of writing its draft, and it is the first stage in enacting any law. This law needs a comprehensive political consensus, because it is a sensitive law that needs deep study and discussion by political parties.”
He added: “The law includes many dimensions, the most important of which is the economic dimension, which is the most important, because the legislation of this law leads to the structuring of the Iraqi economy, and the second dimension is the legal one because until now there is a legal vacuum with the presence of a constitutional article related to oil that requires the legislation of its own law, and the third dimension is political, considering that the issue of the oil commodity is extremely important from a political standpoint, as it is the basic revenue on which the economy and the Iraqi state depend, because 90% of the country’s budget depends on oil imports.”
He stated: “The law is still with the government until now, and there is no official draft by the government. What is currently in circulation is the draft written by the Federal Iraqi Ministry of Oil, which came from one party only. This draft must include the ideas of the Kurdistan region and the oil-producing provinces also, so as to be integrated and can be discussed in the Council of Ministers and voted on, after which it is sent to Parliament and work is done on it.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
