Minister Ben – Eliezer: Water Problem is International – it Crosses Borders and Political Disputes

The Minister of National Infrastructures, Mr. Binyamin (Fuad) Ben – Eliezer concludes tonight state – professional visit in Kazakhstan, focused on the International Water Convention in the city of Almaty, which he attended as a guest of honor.

During the opening ceremony of the convention, Minister Ben – Eliezer met ministers of water of Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. They discussed options for cooperation between the countries and the Minister invited his colleagues to a visit in Israel.

The Minister, accompanied by the Manager of the Water Authority, Prof. Uri Shani and the Mayor of Almaty, visited the exhibition of the convention and was impressed by the displays of Israeli and international companies.

Below please find the highlights of Minister Ben – Eliezer speech in front of the attendees of the convention:

"I am please to stand here in front of you, in an event that in my opinion place both Kazakhstan and Israel in the front of the global water industry.

First and foremost I would like to send my congratulations to Astana, Kazakhstan's capital city and to President Nursultan Nazarbayev for his successful work. The relations between our people are flourishing and such an international convention connects us even more.

We know that the resource of water becomes the oil of the Twenty First Century. It is an issue which bothers the entire world and crosses borders and political disputes.

Water is the essence of life. Without them human existence as we know it will cease to exist. In the last year, simultaneously with growing awareness of environmental and climate changes, we have also noticed changes in the human perception of water. We can no more take water availability as granted; therefore, new technologies aimed at the optimization of our water resources are being developed nowadays.

Israel benefits from the relative advantage of its advanced water industry – both from the knowhow aspect as well as from the experience one. The fact that Israel suffers water shortage is well known, a fact which forced us to develop advanced methods for maximization of our water utilization.

When we look at the near and far future, it seems that we would be forced to deal with water shortage on daily basis, a fact that might change the center of our lives and the life of humanity in the very near future.

I believe that all that was achieved in the last year in Israel and by Israeli companies around the world, places us in the front of worldwide leading water technologies.

I have no doubt regarding the effect of climate changes on the global economy and there is no doubt regarding Israel's contribution in provision of solutions to this grave problem, by means of development of water technologies and promotion of renewable energy.

The Israeli water sector proved itself as one of the most active and advanced with the development of many projects such as water desalination plants in Ashdod and Ashkelon, which produce 100 million cubic meters and 30 million cubic meters per year respectively.

The desalination facility in Hadera, which within two years will produce 100 million cubic meters of water per year, the same as Ashkelon, will continue this success. At least two additional facilities are planned in Ashdod and Sorek.

In addition, Israel is a world leading country in the area of recycling of water for agriculture and industry. I do recommend to you to exploit Israeli's experience and technological tools, here and in other countries.

Recently, our national water company, Mekorot, completed a phenomenal achievement by construction of a half a billion $ filtering facility designed to treat the drinking water of the country. It is just another example of our abilities.

In the last year I returned from a visit in Australia, a country blessed with everything – almost.

Water shortage in such a big country reflects on its economy and therefore on its shape. In this visit I was accompanied by 25 Israeli companies leading the water industry. Each one of them came back with a signed contract.

Australia, like many other countries around the world, decided to make water the center of its agenda, and I do hope that all of you will follow.

The purpose of such a convention is to learn and teach. In my vision I see Israel as the Silicon Valley of the water technology industry. I hereby invite all of you to exploit the knowhow and capabilities of Israel and its companies, and make us active participants in projects all over the world.

Finally, dear friends, I would like to thank you for inviting me to take part in this solemn day".

The Manager of the Water Authority, Prof. Uri Shani, listed in his speech the main reasons for the water problem the world face now, among them: destruction of fresh water sources, including aquifers and fresh water reservoirs; waste of water as the result of leaking piping – a widespread phenomenon in the western world as well as in developing countries; and climate changes as the result of global warming.