TEHRAN - The 13th meeting of the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM)’s governing board was held in Tehran on Thursday.

Chaired by Iranian Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, the event was attended by ministers, deputies and representatives of 15 countries and eight member organizations, the portal of the ministry reported.

The ministers of Tajikistan, Iraq, and Bangladesh, along with the deputies and representatives of the water sectors of Oman, Qatar, Armenia, Syria, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Switzerland, were among the attendees of the meeting.

Promotion of integrated management of water resources at the regional level, transfer of experiences and technical knowledge in the field of integrated management of rivers with the approach of revitalization, re-naturalization, and maintenance of their balance conditions, developing a regional cooperative mechanism in order to adapt urban water systems against climate change, designing and launching the regional drought risk monitoring system, forecasting and management (West Asia and Central Asia region), new water and wastewater treatment and recycling technologies with a focus on non-conventional water, improving the skills of specialists and technicians of urban water systems and improving water quality in the region from capacity building to capacity development and also, the preparation of a book on water governance in the member countries of the Center's Council of Governors were among the issues discussed at the event.

Speaking at the gathering, Mehrabian praised the significant role of the RCUWM, saying that the council is the highest pillar for the development of regional and international cooperation in the water sector, which mainly operates in the west, south, and central Asia as well as North Africa.

***Water industry exhibition held on sidelines of RCUWM meeting

Concurrent with the RCUWM meeting in Tehran, an exhibition was held to showcase Iran’s latest achievements in the water industry.

The exhibition was held with the aim of introducing the achievements and capabilities of Iranian companies active in the industry to other members of the regional center of urban water management.

As reported, 10 large companies active in the country's water and electricity industry that have a history of international activities or a part of their products are exported to other countries participated in this exhibition.

Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) has been established under the auspices of UNESCO in 2002 in Tehran-Iran. It is associated with UNESCO through a formal agreement approved by the UNESCO General Conference.

EF/MA