ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Tuesday said the recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkey includes plans for water treatment projects and dam constructions to help address Iraq’s worsening water shortage and to regulate shared water resources.

Hussein and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Sunday announced the signing of a water MoU to address Iraq’s water woes during the Turkish top diplomat’s visit to Baghdad. 

"The MoU includes initial steps, such as establishing water desalination and treatment projects, and constructing dams to control water management," Hussein said during a presser on Tuesday, adding that the MoU “addresses not only water scarcity but also strategic challenges, including climate change and its repercussions, such as desertification and river drying up.”

Iraqi authorities routinely blame upstream Turkey for withholding water releases. Around 90 percent of Iraq’s water sources originate from Turkey.

The Iraqi minister further stressed that the agreement aims to prevent any political disputes between Ankara and Baghdad, and strengthens bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the two officials' previous meeting in Ankara last month, Fidan revealed that a “working committee” has been established between the two states to address the rehabilitation of Iraq's water distribution system, as well as other water-related infrastructure.

The MoU with Turkey establishes “a clear water management framework," said Iraqi Water Minister Aoun Dhiab, adding that Ankara will provide Baghdad with “a reasonable and fair share of water.”

Water has been the subject of numerous meetings between Iraqi and Turkish officials in recent years. 

The Green Iraq Observatory, an environmental organization, warned in September that Turkey’s dam network has drastically reduced Iraq’s water inflows, intensifying an already severe crisis. Turkey has built about 20 dams over four decades, holding roughly 80 billion cubic meters of water, eight times the capacity of Iraq’s Mosul Dam.

The observatory’s report was followed less than a month later by a statement from the Iraqi agricultural ministry, saying that the country’s water reserves have dropped to dangerous levels. The ministry warned that rationing had become essential to protect water security.

Turhan al-Mufti, the Iraqi prime minister's advisor for regional water affairs, said that the recent MoU with Turkey “includes provisions for the sustainability of the water resources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, representing a new turning point in water relations.”