The President of the Republic of Turkey, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated the Third Session of the Islamic Conference of Ministers responsible for Water in Istanbul on Tuesday, 17 May 2016. Delegatıons from 41 OIC Member States are particıpating in the conference. The Conference, held under the theme “From Vision to Action”, discusses implementation of the OIC Water Vision to enhance cooperation among the OIC member states on water-related issues.

In his inaugural address, President Erdoğan stressed the importance of increasıng cooperatıon among the OIC Member states on water-related issues. He offered to share Turkey’s expertise in this area with other member states to maximize the productive use of water and to overcome the water shortages.

On behalf of the OIC Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan delivered the welcoming remarks. He highlighted the challenges faced by the OIC Member States in water sector and stressed the importance of increasıng intra-OIC cooperatıon to tackle these issues. Ambassador Naeem Khan underscored the importance of the establishment of the Water Council for implementation of the Water Vision.

The Minister of Forestry and Water Resources of Turkey, Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroglu, saıd that the OIC Water Vision provided a framework for cooperation among member states. He underlined the importance of increased cooperation among the member states for effective management of water resources. Minister Veysel offered to provide technical assıstance to the OIC member states in Water Sector.

A keynote speech by Vice President of the World Water Council as well as two presentatıons on various aspects of water related issues by representatives of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) of Turkey and Islamic Development Bank were also made.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the senior officials of the member states was held to dıscuss and finalize the documents for adoption by the ministerıal conference.