ShafaqNews- Damascus
Syria andIraq agreed to strengthen cooperation on managing shared water resources,including exchanging hydrological data and working to revive a trilateraltechnical committee with Turkiye, a Syrian official said on Sunday.
ObadaAl-Mubaid, director of International Water at Syria's Ministry of Energy, toldShafaq News that the technical protocolstipulated the continued data exchange on theEuphrates River, particularly during periods of water scarcity or suddenincreases in water releases, to ensure a rapid response and appropriatemeasures. The agreement also calls for reactivating the joint technicalcommittee involving Syria, Iraq, and Turkiye, subject to the three countries'approval, while strengthening coordination with Turkiye as the upstream countryto safeguard the legitimate water rights of Syria and Iraq in accordance withinternational law.
Accordingto Al-Mubaid, the deal provides for resuming joint training programs andexchanges of expertise in hydrological monitoring, dam operations, droughtmanagement, and early warning systems to enhance the capacity of technicalstaff and improve water resource management. Additionally, the cooperation aimsto establish a permanent institutional framework for technical coordinationbetween Syria and Iraq, improve the management of the Euphrates River, unifytechnical positions on shared water issues, and strengthen the protection of bothcountries' water rights.
Last week,Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources and Syria's Ministry of Energy signed the agreementfollowing bilateral talks on cooperation in managing shared water resources andexchanging technical data.