77th Meeting of the International Executive Council (IEC) of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)

On 17 October 2026, the 77th meeting of the International Executive Council (IEC) of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) was held in Marseille, France.

The IEC is ICID’s highest decision-making body. It comprises representatives of national committees (42 currently active), Office Bearers (the President and nine serving Vice-Presidents), and the Management Board. The latter consists of five senior ICID officials: the President, three Vice-Presidents chairing ICID’s key permanent committees—the Permanent Finance Committee (PFC), Permanent Committee on Strategy and Organization (PCSO), and Permanent Committee on Technical Activities (PCTA)—and the Secretary General. The IEC meets annually. Between meetings, major decisions are taken by the Management Board.

This year’s meeting brought together representatives of 40 of ICID’s 42 national committees.

During the 77th IEC meeting, reports were presented by ICID’s working bodies, several leading national committees, and the Central Office. Following their review, ICID’s Annual Report for 2025–2026 was approved. The full report is available here.

The meeting concluded with elections for a new ICID President and three Vice-Presidents for 2027–2029.

Following a secret ballot between two candidates, Dr. Tsugihiro Watanabe of Japan was elected ICID President. He has 45 years of research experience in irrigation management, rural hydrology, and the impacts of climate change on hydrology and agriculture. He is a professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University.

Three Vice-Presidents were elected from seven candidates, ranked by the number of votes received:

• Dr. Wu Wenyong, China
• Dr. Muhammed Imran Kulat, Turkey
• Dr. Narges Zohrabi, Iran.

Dr. Wu Wenyong is a professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage at the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR).

Dr. Muhammed İmran Kulat —is a Turkish expert in water and sustainable development. He works at Türkiye’s General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ).

Dr. Narges Zohrabi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Water Science and Engineering at Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch. She provides specialized mentoring, coaching, and consultancy services to various stakeholders, particularly water-sector companies and enterprises, at national, regional, and international levels.

Outgoing ICID President Marco Arcieri of Italy (2023–2026) was granted the lifetime title of Honorary President of ICID.

Vice-President Vadim Sokolov of Uzbekistan was also granted the lifetime title of Honorary Vice-President of ICID. He will continue to serve in 2027 as Chair of ICID’s Permanent Committee on Strategy and Organization (PCSO) and as a member of the ICID Management Board.