South Korea, Japan and China on Monday vowed to further boost their cooperation in dealing with issues related to water while agreeing to share their knowledge with others to help them overcome such problems.
The agreement came at a ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the 7th World Water Forum in South Korea’s southeastern cities of Daegu and Gyeongju.
The meeting involved South Korea’s minister of land, infrastructure and transport, Japan’s transport and tourism minister, and China’s minister of water resources.
“We decide to share the knowledge and experience learned in above water policy innovation initiatives for improved water security in three countries. In addition, we welcome trilateral cooperation to share and spread our achievements and success to other countries, in particular, the developing world,” they said in a joint statement released by Seoul’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The three ministers also noted the importance of technology developments in dealing with various water problems that include water pollution, security and management.
“Recognizing the importance of science and technologies in realizing international and national water development goals, we support the timely creation of Science & Technology Process at the 7th World Water Forum and respect the deliberations and outcomes made at the Science & Technology Process,” the statement said.
“We share the recognition that water policy innovation and reform should be promoted by each country in order to strengthen the core role of water resource in sustainable development, improve synergy among relevant government agencies and relevant stakeholders, enhance the resilience of water infrastructure and attract more financial investment into the water sector.”
The World Water Forum is the world’s largest event involving water that has been held every three years since 1997. This year’s meeting kicked off Sunday for a five-day run with some 1,800 political, business leaders and activists from around the world, while it is expected to attract some 35,000 others. (Yonhap)
