Baghdad to host third international water conference

By Olamide Tejuoso

Amid water crisis concerns, Iraq is seeking more sustainable use of water across border and is hosting the third Baghdad International Water Conference (IWC) in May 2023. The Baghdad-IWC would be holding, between 6th and 7th May, 2023 at Royal Tulip, Al Rasheed Hotel. Consequently, Iraq has extended invitations to Iranian and Turkish delegations to take part as water shortages continue to impact the farming and agriculture sectors in the country.

The country, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), has limited water resources, which continue to dwindle by affecting farming and agriculture in southern provinces, and Baghdad has recently intensified efforts to address its water crisis with Ankara and Tehran. Also, Iraq’s President, Abdul Latif Rashid had disclosed, at the United Nations water convention in March that the country was facing serious water crisis, as the water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which stem from neighboring Turkey and flows through Syria to Iraq where they then connect with the Persian Gulf, had reduced by a third for the last 40 years, hence, the need to see that water flow improves.

During the 2023 UN water convention, where Iraq participated as the first middle East country in attendance, there were predictions that by 2050, rainfall will decrease by 25 per cent in the country, which would consequently lead to intensified desertification and water scarcity. As water crisis persists, reports have it that the Federal Government of Iraq would be sending a “technical delegation” to Turkey, to discuss shared water resources. Turkey and Iran are Iraq’s major trading partners in the region, hence why they have been invited the water conference.