Damascus-SANA
Today, Prime Minister Eng. Hussein Arnous discussed with Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani and the accompanying delegation cooperation between the two countries in the fields of water and water resources and unifying their position in international forums to preserve their water rights from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in a way that achieves the common interest of the two brotherly countries and peoples.
Engineer Arnous stressed the importance of strengthening joint action and raising the levels of coordination at various levels to obtain the rights of the two countries from the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and to achieve a fair sharing of water between the upstream and downstream countries in accordance with international laws and signed agreements in this field.
The Prime Minister called for joint coordination in order to achieve water security in the two countries and to seek to establish joint projects between the concerned authorities in the two countries and to form technical committees to ensure the implementation of the agreements reached in addition to cooperation to modernize the management of water systems and their investment in the most optimal ways, especially in light of climate change and low Precipitation rate.
For his part, Minister Al-Hamdani stressed the need to unify the visions and positions between the two countries regarding the issue of water, and that the upstream state of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers does not take into account the water needs of Iraq and Syria is unacceptable, pointing out that it is necessary for the downstream countries to obtain their water rights in accordance with international laws.
The two sides stressed the need for joint action in international forums to compel the Turkish side to abide by the international laws related to sharing river waters between upstream and downstream countries, as well as expanding areas of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of land transport, increasing trade exchange and activating the exchange of goods and materials needed by the two countries' markets.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Tammam Raad, and the Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Dr. Qais Muhammad Khader.