Syrian-French Talks for Establishing Water Projects

A delegation from the Syrian Ministry of Local Administration and Environment discussed last January 12nd in Damascus with a delegation from the French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Territorial Development the possibility of establishing vital projects in the fields of water and environment in Syria, which will be sponsored by the Union for the Mediterranean.

The Syria delegation gave a presentation on projects that have urgent need in Syria, stressing the need for providing capabilities, studies, technology and funding to carry out these projects.

Director of the General Department of Environmental Affairs Dr. Akram Khouri pointed out that Syria has a shortage of water resources and a wealth of fertile lands, which calls for finding proper means to use these resources, especially in light of the population boom that surpassed 20 million persons, which calls for resorting to modern irrigation projects.

He added that Syria has already started taking steps in that regard, but it needs bigger support to achieve optimal use of modern irrigation by carrying out water recycling projects, establishing water processing plants and removing pollution from rivers, stressing that these projects are vital for Syria in confronting climate shifts.

For their parts, the French delegation expressed desire to continue studying the project for desalinating water from the Mediterranean, calling for bolstering Syrian-French relations in the fields of water and environment by strengthening cooperation between the two ministries.

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Syrian Ministry of Local Administration & Environment