The 5th World Water Forum, the largest water-related event in the world, wrapped up Sunday in Turkeys' biggest city of Istanbul with Istanbul statement calling for water management.
On the last day of the forum, an Istanbul statement was adopted by ministers and heads of delegations of more than 150 countries, calling for efforts internationally to "adapt the water management to all global changes and improve cooperation at all levels."
World leaders signed an Istanbul Water Consensus during the heads of state summit on the opening day of the forum, underlining the importance of sustainable development of vital water resources and of water management strategies in the face of global changes.
The forum, aimed to facilitate solutions to the world's water problems and promote cooperation among states and organizations, began Monday with the theme of "Bridging Divides for Water."
It attracted a record of 25,000 participants from all over the world, including a number of heads of state, more than 90 ministers, 63 mayors, 156 delegations and 148 parliamentarians.
There are some 100 discussions during the week-long event, covering a wide-range of topics from global climate change to water-related risk management, from managing and protecting water resources to water investment.
A water Expom and a water fair were also staged during the forum, gathering a big number of companies from Germany, The Netherlands, China, South Korea, Japan, to show the latest water- related technology and products.
Three Chinese delegations of 122 people, including a government delegation, an expert delegation and an enterprise delegation, attended the topic sessions and the Water Expom to share China's experience with the world.
(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2009)
