Korea to share water management know-how with Asian countries

Yoon Seung-joon, president of the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI), speaks at the Asia Water Management Forum that ended in Seoul, Tuesday. The two-day forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote cooperation with Asian countries in the water industry. (Photo : KEITI)

Korea will provide its environmental technology on water management for developing nations across Asia to meet growing demand on the water industry and related markets, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Environment said on the last day of the two-day Asia Water Management Forum in Seoul, Tuesday that the country has a high expectation from neighboring nations to play an “active” role in boosting vital services.

“The demand for supplies of clean water will continue to grow with an increase in the world’s population and rapid urbanization,” said Yoon Seung-joon, president of the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) that organized the forum.

“And I hope our country and the firms have found a way to share their water management strategy with other Asian nations,” he said.

The forum was co-hosted by the environment ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to find ways of tackling rising demand on the water industry around the world, especially in Asia. The size of the global market is estimated at 600 trillion won ($5.4 billion).

The meeting drew 160 delegates, including government officials and environmental experts from Korea and five developing Asian countries — Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Kazakhstan.

Representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also attended the forum seeking possible ways of improving the lives of millions of people in Asia by alleviating poverty through the provision of sufficient water supplies.

The ADB helps to enable successful systems of water management such as sewage systems and the provision of drinking water.

It also provided a business consulting program for Korean companies that plan to advance into the water provision sector in other Asian countries.

Environmental officials and experts from Korea reached an agreement with delegates from Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan to promote collaboration in sharing know-how on providing and maintaining clean water.

The delegates from Myanmar asked for advice from the Ministry of Environment to develop a plan on improving the country’s environmental conditions. <The Korea Times/Yi Whan-woo>