The 6th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Seminar on Urban Water Management was held in Changsha on October 22. The attendees included more than 100 government officials, experts, scholars, enterprise representatives, foreign diplomats, and representatives of international organizations from 22 ASEM members.

At the conference. (Photo/Xiang Yipeng)

With the theme of "Promoting Sustainable Development and Innovation of Water Resources for Shared Prosperity", this year's seminar aimed to establish an international and influential forum and a network with wide participation on sustainable water management in the Asia-Europe region, providing opportunities for ASEM members to seek solutions, share achievements, and exchange experiences. Holding the seminar would facilitate dialogues among Asian and European governments, private institutions, academic circles, and the public in terms of sustainable and integrated water resources management, better addressing challenges in water resource protection and urban water integration management.

Jiang Duan, a senior official of China's ASEM, noted that China has consistently been an advocate and promoter of practical cooperation between Asia and Europe. It is hoped that all parties will take this seminar as an opportunity to further strengthen exchanges in the fields of science and technology, culture, education, and think tanks, forming an all-round, multi-level, and multi-channel cooperation framework. He also hoped that efforts will be made to improve the developmental resilience of the Asia-Europe region and inject more certainty and positive energy into the development of Asia, Europe, and even the whole world, jointly creating a better future for the development and prosperity of Asia-Europe cooperation.

Cao Zhiqiang, vice governor of the Hunan Provincial People's Government, said that Hunan will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with all parties in Asia and Europe to jointly address water resources and environmental issues. He stressed that Hunan will take this seminar as an opportunity to build a platform for cooperation and dialogue between Asian and European parties and cultivate new momentum for sustainable development. He hoped that efforts will be made to jointly making breakthroughs in key core technologies and future technologies in the field of sustainable use and management of water resources, establishing scientific and technological innovation platforms, introducing and cultivating high-end talents, and commercializing research findings, so as to build a new pattern for shared benefits and win-win results.

During the seminar, 19 expert representatives with water-related institutions and international organizations from 17 countries will give academic lectures focusing on the following three major issues: urban water environment treatment, ecological and environmental treatment of rivers and lakes, and technological innovation cases. The lecturers will share the successful experiences and practices of ASEM members in the sustainable management of urban water resources, and discuss scientific research trends, new technologies and new concepts in related fields.

The seminar is an important international conference for the Asia-Europe Water Resources Research and Utilization Center to promote exchanges and cooperation between Asian and European countries in the field of sustainable use and management of water resources, and serves as a bridge and link for Asian and European countries to discuss the topic of sustainable and integrated water resources management. The seminar was held in Changsha for the first time in 2014 and has been held every two years. Since then, the conference has been successfully held for five sessions.

责编：唐煜斯

一审：唐煜斯

二审：秦慧英

三审：黄晓辉

来源：湖南省政府门户网