Energy Minister Muhammad al-Bashir held talks with an Iraqi delegation from the Ministry of Water Resources, led by Technical Deputy Hussein Abd al-Amir Bakka, on ways to develop water cooperation between the two countries and enhance coordination among relevant institutions to serve common interests and address challenges related to water resource management.
The ministry stated on Sunday that the meeting, held at the ministry building in Damascus, covered expanding technical cooperation areas and exchanging expertise and information regarding the water situation, particularly in the Euphrates River basin, to strengthen joint efforts and support continuous coordination between both sides on issues of mutual interest.
Euphrates River situation and latest water developments
Energy Minister’s deputy for water and electricity affairs, Osama Abu Zayd, also discussed with the Iraqi delegation the situation of the Euphrates River and the latest water developments in both countries, ways to exchange hydrological data, and activate joint measurement stations on the river, to enhance information exchange and help monitor changes in water inflows.
The two sides discussed mechanisms for joint coordination with the Republic of Turkey, resuming and activating the work of the joint tripartite technical committee between Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, as well as training programs and exchanging technical expertise in water resource management.
Official attendance from both sides
Attending the meetings from the Syrian side were Abada Mubayyid, director of the Water Sector Regulation Department at the Ministry of Energy; Taher al-Amar, director general of the General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation; Ahmad al-Kuwan, director general of the General Authority for Water Resources; Haitham Bakour, director general of the General Establishment for the Tabqa Dam; and Firas Kurdush, director of the International Cooperation Directorate at the ministry.
The Iraqi delegation included Dr. Wasim Ubayyid, director general of the General Authority for Dams and Reservoirs; Ali Radi Thamer, director general of the National Center for Water Resources Management; Ali Saleh Shalal, director of Haditha Dam; along with some specialized officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources.
The Syrian Ministry of Energy and the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources previously signed a technical protocol for cooperation in managing shared water resources and exchanging technical data and information on June 25, following a bilateral technical meeting in the capital Baghdad.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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