The Middle East’s premier water exhibition and associated events are set for an opening in mid-November.
The International Exhibition for Water Technology and the Middle East Water Summit takes place at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre from 14 to 16 November.
A meeting of the Ministers of Water & Electricity of all GCC countries (Gulf Cooperation Council) is also fixed for the autumn in Bahrain, illustrating the importance of the subject.
The event is already listed in Germany’s official programme of international exhibitions.
After the Free State of Bavaria had promoted an official pavilion in 2004, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour included Water Middle East in the official programme of international exhibitions in 2005 at the request of the Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau (VDMA) and the Nah-und Mittelostverein (NUMOV).
The event has attracted international interest because of the need to introduce new solutions and technologies to ease water shortages. The conference committee led by Dr. Klaus Ritter, Euro Institute for Information and Technology Transfer in Environmental Protection (EITEP), Hanover, and Abdullatif Ibrahim Al-Mugrin, president of the Water Science and Technology Association (WSTA) in Bahrain, have obtained top speakers for the water summit. These include John Briscoe, senior water adviser, The World Bank Group; A El-Nawawy, director Arab Region, UNIDO and Abdulhamid A Almansour, president, International Desalination Association.
Also invited are Dr Ahmed Al Janahi, chairman, Euro University Bahrain; Prof Don Bursill, CEO, Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment, and Prof Dietrich Stein, vice president, International Society for Trenchless Technology.
Chairing the summit will be Dr David Garman, senior vice president of the International Water Association. A special forum on “Management of pipe-based infrastructure using modern no-dig methods” has also been arranged to supplement the expert summit at Water Middle East: The forum will not only focus on the laying, maintenance and cleaning problems of water and drainage pipes, but will also include gas and telecommunication lines.
The organisers of the exhibition, Nürnberg Global Fairs and the Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau, expect exhibitors from the sectors of water recovery, desalination, treatment, distribution, irrigation, waste water discharge, waste water treatment, and renovation and modernisation of plant, drains and pipes.
The event will bring together professionals, government representatives and decision-makers.
