The Blue Peace: achieving peace and security through water cooperation.

• Author: Vishwanath, Ambika
• Position: COMMENTARY - Essay

In 2010 in a historic series of meetings, four proactive leaders in the Middle East came together and forged ties for the creation of a future economic regional community. They had a vision to create a European Union for the Middle East and term it 'Shamgen.' The term was coined by the current President and the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from Syria's historical name of 'Al-Sham,' which stretched from Mesopotamia to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Their vision would cover trade and transport, banking and business laws, eliminate visa constraints, and allow for free movement of goods and people across the region. Within six short months they achieved tremendous success, sparking hope for the future of people in the region. The international community lauded their efforts and was eager to aid in these endeavors. There was talk that the community and union could further expand in the future to cover other aspects of governance and life and continue to grow in the future. The leaders of the four countries, namely Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, intricately connected by a common history, people and resources, also invited Iraq to join in their journey. This invitation was borne out of a realization that Iraq is closely linked to three of the countries in the Shamgen zone. It was expected that Iraq would join once it had solved internal constitutional constraints.

While in view of the political volatility since 2011, such cooperation may appear to be a dream; the situation was different in the second half of 2010. The decision taken by the leaders in June 2010 to promote regional integration was very promptly implemented through various policy measures, mechanisms and arrangements within six months.

In the same spirit of cooperation a few years earlier, in July 2008, Turkey and Iraq signed a Joint Political Declaration on the Establishment of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HSCC). The first ministerial meeting of the HSCC, a forum for joint meetings of the Iraqi and Turkish cabinets, was held in Istanbul on 17-18 September 2009. The Turkish foreign minister was accompanied by seven executive members of the cabinet, including the ministers of trade, energy, transport, agriculture, and the environment (water) while the Iraqi minister was accompanied by nine executive cabinet members, the counter-parts of the Turkish ministers, and their deputy ministers. According to the strategic partnership agreement between Turkey and Iraq, the HSCC was to meet at least once a year, with the Prime Ministers of the two countries chairing the meetings. Ministerial meetings, on the other hand, would be held at least three times a year and technical delegations would come together four times a year. Decisions made by the HSCC would be implemented within the framework of an action plan. Barham Salih, Iraq's former deputy prime minister, called the agreement "the starting point of the Middle East common market" and likened the improving relations between Iraq and Turkey to the relationship between France and Germany in the 1950s. (1)

A land and people that was once the cradle of civilization, which saw the birth of amazing scientific and cultural discoveries, had the potential to resurrect itself through cooperation and a common vision. Unfortunately, the process of integration was interrupted in early 2011 due to the Arab Spring, then suspended and then reversed. Soon barriers came up and trade between countries came to a standstill. Leaders changed and open dialogue and diplomatic...