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International Water Forum begins in Japan
Tokyo, Mar 16: The World Water Forum opened today in Japan`s western Kyoto prefecture, with more than 1,000 people from 160 countries taking discussing how issues including poverty and conflicts relate to water resources.
Tokyo, Mar 16: The World Water Forum opened today in Japan's western Kyoto prefecture, with more than 1,000 people from 160 countries taking discussing how issues including poverty and conflicts relate to water resources.
At the opening ceremony, former Japanese prime minister Ryutaro
Hashimoto called on participants to come up with ''concrete action''
to tackle water issues.
''The forum should not be a mere forum for discussion. The time has come to put what has been discussed into action,'' said Hashimoto, who serves as head of the forum's steering committee.
The third international forum, which continues through March 23, is taking place in the western prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga. The meeting will culminate in ministerial-level meetings on March 22 and 23.
Participants are scheduled to draw up statements for each of the 40 themes and submit them to the ministerial meeting so that ministers can base their discussions on the inputs, according to the water forum secretariat.
''Participating countries and international organizations will issue a ministerial declaration that expresses their resolve to deal with water issues,'' Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a Tokyo news conference earlier.
Kawaguchi, who will chair the ministerial talks on March 23, said that the declaration will call for boosting international support for human resources development to achieve the goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of people without access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation.
Japan plans to unveil 91 action programmes related to water, covering five areas such as water resource management and disaster alleviation in the portfolio, according to the foreign ministry.
Bureau Report
''The forum should not be a mere forum for discussion. The time has come to put what has been discussed into action,'' said Hashimoto, who serves as head of the forum's steering committee.
The third international forum, which continues through March 23, is taking place in the western prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga. The meeting will culminate in ministerial-level meetings on March 22 and 23.
Participants are scheduled to draw up statements for each of the 40 themes and submit them to the ministerial meeting so that ministers can base their discussions on the inputs, according to the water forum secretariat.
''Participating countries and international organizations will issue a ministerial declaration that expresses their resolve to deal with water issues,'' Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a Tokyo news conference earlier.
Kawaguchi, who will chair the ministerial talks on March 23, said that the declaration will call for boosting international support for human resources development to achieve the goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of people without access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation.
Japan plans to unveil 91 action programmes related to water, covering five areas such as water resource management and disaster alleviation in the portfolio, according to the foreign ministry.
Bureau Report