 Mr. Mahdi Rashid Alhamdani, Minister of Water Resources from Iraq. It is my great pleasure to have this interview with you. Great that you are at IHE Delft, and it is my pleasure to talk to you today. Would you like to tell us what are the main challenges Iraq is facing related to water resources? Thank you very much, and it's an honor to me to be here at IHE, this institute I like. Of course I have one of the participants who graduated in 2007, so I like to be here many times. With respect to your question about the main challenges that we are facing in Iraq, in fact Iraq is located downstream the main two rivers. So the whole, let's say more than 80% of our water resources come from outside Iraq. So that is the main challenge. The second one is there is no international agreement between the Rabirian country. I mean no international agreement with Turkey and as well with Iran. We have now just a suspend, but we are working to make it functional again. And Iraq is an arid and semi arid area, so they are I mean severing from drought. So the climate change is also one of the main issue that we are facing now. So that is our big challenge now. Thank you very much. Would you also like to tell us what are the main challenges you face as a minister? Yes, there are many challenges during my day work, let's say. Ministry of Water Resources is dealing with the poor people like a farmer. And it's also have a challenge to deal with the high level people as well. You know it's not easy to convince people that there is a drought. They cannot cultivate or they cannot agriculture their land 100% because of drought. So that is I mean that is what we call a daily mission. We need to sit with the whole people please be consider there is no rainfall. There is no, so you need to change your crop pattern. So I mean also the cooperation between Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture. There is no quiet cooperation in terms of drought. And the flood season we don't have any problem. You know when the flood we have I mean plenty water to cover our requirement. But any drought we feel that the Ministry of Water Resources alone facing that challenge. These are very important challenges you have mentioned and great that you are making efforts to overcome them. Would you like to tell us what are the ambitions you have as a minister? First of all we need to have our water rights. My target to have an agreement with the upper part country like Turkey for instance. Because most of our water resources come from Turkey. The second one and that is also my target to change the irrigation system. And that is what we are working on it now since let's say one year. We are looking and I am looking to change the let's say what we called open irrigation system to close system. I mean transfer water by pumping and through piping. That is give equity to the people. I mean the farmer who live in the downstream the canal he have a right to have the same amount from the upstream. So that is our I mean that is what I am looking for. And also in our ministry we put the first mission to keep a water right to the people live in downstream. So if we succeed to transfer water to them with good equality that is mean our ministry succeed in their mission. Indeed addressing these challenges is really quite difficult. And you are doing it greatly in collaboration with water users but also different ministries and trans boundary level. This requires a lot of capacity development and training as well. Would you like to tell us the collaboration between IHG Delft and your ministry how that contributes in addressing water issues in Iraq. Yeah of course since I am one of the IHG alumina so I understand what can IHG doing very good for our country. I mean the cooperation with IHG is the main target that we are looking for. So we are I mean during our meeting with with with Mr. Rector Mr. Eddie Morse. So I ask him to find a way to open a branch for IHG in Iraq. We need to build the capacity of our staff and increase their awareness about the new challenge. What we call the climate change and we need to reach the SD6 I mean in 2030. So with the cooperation with IHG I think we will reach a good point by at the end of the day. Would you also like to tell us what role IHG Delft has played in your education because you are our alumnus. When we have a chance to study here in IHG of course it's open your open our eyes about the new technique in the whole world. So what we learn here in IHG we are using directly in our field in Iraq when when I go back to my country after graduated. So there are new techniques so we we also using the same technique and and also develop that. So it's it's not me. There are 18 participant. So I think that is very good for us. Thank you very much for reflecting on on your studies and how that contributes. Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your MSc thesis research? Yeah my topics during my MSc study is focusing on how can we I mean let's say distribute water from I mean when we're releasing water from the dam. And I talk the case study in Kurdistan region north of Iraq. It is under construction. So our idea is how can we release water and distribute it to the all users by equity and equality. You know a way so we learn many technique. And I remember my model it's Wafleks model at that time. So it is an easy model but it is in fact very very active model and easy and active. So I give I mean at that time I transfer what I learned here to the many staffs of our ministry to learn them how can we deal with with an easy model like Wafleks. And reflect of course that is reflect their duty I mean during distribution water. Would you like to tell us a little bit more what impact really you want to make in your professional career? Of course in our ministry we are focusing on the people living downstream. So actually we don't have let's say a big problem with the people live from Baghdad to north. So our challenge become from Baghdad to the south of Iraq. So we need actually we are focusing on the people live in the downstream because we have to river. So when we are following the water from the border let's say from Iraq is border. We are very sensitive and looking for the quality and the quantity. Actually we are focusing on equality number one. The quantity is the number two because without good equality if we mean we release 400 cubic meter is meaningless. They can you they cannot use it they may be become a disease to the people the pollution you know. So we are focusing to keep the same amount not exactly the same amount but the same equality for the people live in north to the same people live to the south. So that is our target to keep the same equality because we have many problems inside our inside Iraq. There are some people release polluted water without any treatment. So we are working with the minister of environmental to avoid that but you know it's not easy to adapt that or to applying that in short time. So we try to keep the same quality to the people live downstream. What is your key message to our prospective IHE students? I advise all the people on the whole round of I mean the world. If they are looking for the best experience I advise them to visit Netherlands and take I mean their education in IHE for instance in TU Delft. And the whole scientific research in IHE because they have highly experienced and very important issue that the whole world are facing in the future. You know that IHE Delft is home for students from many countries including Iraq. What is the key message you would like to give to our current population of students at IHE Delft? Yeah of course I met some of them yesterday so of course I encourage them to take this opportunity in serious way and try to using for instance a case study from their country from Iraq. Because they feeling the people come from Iraq they should have the same service in their country when they are coming back. I mean in IHE they prefer to bring their case study from Iraq and then doing their MSc here in order to give something to their country. So that is my advice to our student here. I'm very glad to hear from our alumni officer Maria Laura that you are very active also in contacting and inspiring IHE Delft alumni. So would you like to tell us a little bit more about this aspect? I think we have 18 graduating from IHE, 18 people from our ministry. Most of them I gave him a high responsibility. We have engineer Hatem Hamid, he graduated 2006. He is now a general director for National Water Resource, the National Center for Water Resource in Iraq. This is very important directory and it is related to the water policy, I mean ministry water policy. And his deputy by the way, Mr. Laith Abdesettar, he is also one of the IHE graduated. And we have Mr. Alaa Turki, he is also a head of the Strategical Study Session. Engineer Rana, she is now a head of the study department in the State Commission for dams. Many, many of them I am very, I mean I'm very keen to be there, I mean to give him opportunity to take responsibility because we are looking for a new generation. So a new generation and take their MSc from IHE from very important institute dealing with the water. So that is mean we need to give him opportunity to take responsibility. Thank you very much Mr. Mehdi Rashid Alhamdani, Minister of Water Resources Iraq for having this interview with me. I'm sure that this interview will be inspiring for many students in IHE but also many water practitioners in Iraq and internationally. Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. Thank you.