Preparations for the Budapest World Water Summit 2019 are in their final phase, and the priority topic of the three-day conference that beings on 15 October will be the prevention of a global water crisis, including finding solutions to the problems of water scarcity, water excess, and contaminated water, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement on Friday.

Some two thousand participants from all over the world are expected to attend the event, which begins in a little less than a month, including heads of state and government and ministers, as well as the representatives of international organisations, and the financial and water sector. Amongst others, the programme of the event, which is being organised by the Hungarian Government, will focus on priority topics such and the value of water and the relationship between the pressure on water stocks and mass migration, and the role of science and technology in preventing a looming water crisis, the Ministry writes.

“Registration are continuously arriving; heads of state, ministers, international institutions involved in the areas of water, sanitation and sustainable water management, as well as the representatives of governments, the private and financial sectors, and of scientific life are indicating their intent to attend the Summit”, Deputy State Secretary for increasing exports and Chairman of the inter-ministerial committee that is preparing the event István Joó told the press. In the statement, he explained that there is heightened interest from countries that in recent years have already had to face the consequences of the water crisis, and their representative are coming to the event to that they can return home with guidelines that can be applied in the interests of preventing and handling water-related challenges.

“The Budapest World Water Summit will be placing greater emphasis than before on realisation, and this is why the EXPO, at which the Hungarian water sector will be showcasing itself, it being given a priority role”, he added. The “Digital and Close-to-Nature Sustainable Solutions” trade exhibition organised by Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) will for the first time not only be open to professionals, but also to the general public; the expo will be open to everybody on its send and third day, on 16-17 October, without prior registration. A separate professional program and roundtable discussions will also be awaiting visitors on the territory of the expo and, amongst others, already realised, successful projects will also be showcased by the Hungarian enterprises and organisations present.

At the initiative of President of the Republic János Áder, and in cooperation with various United nations organisations and the World Water Council, the Hungarian Government organised the first Budapest World Water Summit in October 2013. The event played a significant role in the fact that water and sanitation appear as a separate target in the sustainable development framework system adopted by the UN in 2015 (Agenda 2030), and has thus become a compass with relation to sustainable development and international climate policy. The second Budapest World Water Summit was held in November 2016, and the goal of the event was to determine the changes needed for the realisation of sustainable water management, to successfully link political decision-making processes with the solutions offered by capital, knowledge and technology, and with NGO that are playing a key role, and to further the solution of the most important challenges of the 21st century through practical measures.

(MTI)