JEDDAH- 15.7.08 : High level officials from more than 15 Arab countries, including 8 ministers in charge of water, and some 80 water experts from the Arab region and beyond attended the formal launching of the Arab Water Academy (AWA) in Abu Dhabi last week, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, deputy prime minister of the UAE and chairman of the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi (EAD).

The Arab Water Academy is the brainchild of the Cairo-based Arab Water Council (AWC), a regional water policy think-tank chaired by Dr Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and former President of the World Water Council, who also attended the meeting. Hosted by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)' s Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), in partnership with EAD, the Academy is a groundbreaking regional capacity development programme targeting decision-makers and industry executives. The Academy is being supported by the IDB and the World Bank.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, the IDB President, said "As the region's economies and population grow, the cost of providing water services will continue to put tremendous pressure on governments across the region, not least because of dwindling water resources and escalating production costs. This region will increasingly need "smart" solutions that combine effectively engineering and managerial prowess. This will require, amongst others, re-training water policy makers and managers, in order to meet the water challenges of the twenty-first century".

"This sea change in addressing water problems "out-of-the-box" will not be easy to implement and will require commensurate institutional and human capacity, underpinned by strong political commitment", Dr Ali, added.

Speaking to, reporters, Dr Shawki Barghouti, the ICBA Director General, said "The Academy will serve as a regional center of excellence for capacity development,for example, in integrated water resources management, utility management and water governance with a view to improving the delivery of water services through sustainable water sector strategies for advancing national economies of countries in the Arab region". The Academy will also make extensive use of virtual communication platforms, media and broadcasting resources.

In addition to tapping into the expertise available within the region, the Academy will also forge strategic partnership with leading academic and research institutions worldwide, such a Harvard University, Oxford University, Cambridge University and Cranfield University, all of which attended the Abu Dhabi meeting.