Turkey And Israel To Sign Water Agreement

ANKARA - Turkey and Israel sign on Thursday Manavgat Water Agreement envisaging selling of water from Turkey to Israel.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan told reporters that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and Israeli Foreign Ministry Undersecretary would sign today the water agreement which was reached after the meetings carried on between Turkey and Israel since 2002.
Tan said that under the agreement Turkey would sell Israel 50 million cubic meters of water annually from water refining and filling facilities on Manavgat river.
Noting that the agreement covered 20 years and water would be transferred to Israel by sea, Tan said that the agreement would bring a new dimension to the cooperation between two countries and added that it would contribute in bringing stability and peace to the Middle East.
Noting that the agreement would be a good example for providing water to other regional countries which had shortage of water, Tan said that the capacity of Manavgat river and facilities was sufficient for selling water to other countries.
Tan stressed that Turkey had many times announced that it was ready to sell water from Manavgat river and national rivers which pour into Mediterranean to other regional countries.
Upon a question, Tan said that issues such as the cost of water and date of selling would take place in management agreement which would be signed in the coming period. He added that the date of this agreement was not certain yet.
(GC-AY) 04.03.2004