Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Aoun Dhiab Abdullah announced on Friday that Turkey has promised to increase water releases to Iraq.

According to Abdullah’s statement, “Under the direct supervision and guidance of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, contact was made with the Turkish side to increase water releases from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in order to overcome the water shortage crisis and maintain the environmental flow of both rivers.”

The Turkish side, according to the statement, “expressed full understanding of the crisis and pledged to increase the amount of water released from Turkish dams toward Iraq, within the framework of mutual cooperation, shared understandings, and good relations with neighboring Turkey.”

The statement added, “This communication comes as part of ongoing efforts to alleviate the severe water deficit Iraq is facing due to the intense drought affecting the region in general and Iraq in particular.”