EAME’s Managing Director, Steve Rowan, was invited to attend the sixth Sulaimani Forum that took place on 6 – 7th March 2019 at The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. The Forum has become the prime policy event in Iraq, bringing together key policymakers, stakeholders, and analysts for two days of thought-provoking debates and discussions on the most pressing issues facing the region. The forum is organized by the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS), an Iraqi-based research institute housed at the American University of Iraq. This year, discussions focused on the stabilization, good governance and economic growth in Iraq and the region.
The President of Iraq Dr. Barham Salih provided welcome remarks. Several ministers, high-ranking dignitaries and officials from federal government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government as well as representatives from the international community attended the even
Steve said ‘I am pleased to see that one of the sessions included a discussion about Iraq’s water resources. Iraq’s major river systems (Euphrates, Tigris and indirectly Karun Rivers) begin their journeys in neighbouring nations who, to serve their own water needs, greatly reduce the flows coming into Iraq. Iraq with a growing population, multiple pollution sources, poor management practices, ineffective treatment and distribution and increasing salinity sees a situation of increasing water demand whilst experiencing reducing quantity and quality. There needs to be urgent and considerable investment in treatment and management of water resources and an accurate representation of the cost of clean water in the economy. A secondary benefit of clean potable water delivered to homes will be a reduction in the tens of millions of plastic water bottles that litter the Iraqi landscape. The technology and management techniques exist to solve this problem if the political will is there to support and finance it’.
EAME is already looking forward to next year’s forum.
EAME is an environmental and social consultancy operating in Iraq since 2010. EAME provides a range of services which allows international funders, developers, companies and Export Credit Agencies to management their environmental and social risks in a challenging environment.