Baku hosts a conference on global and regional hydropolitical problems

On November 25, 2014, the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan (SAM) and Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) co-hosted a conference on "Global and Regional Hydropolitical Problems in the Context of International Cooperation and Security".

In his speech, Director of SAM Dr. Farhad Mammadov noted that SAM and ANAS were holding discussions on the topic of hydropolitical problems. Dr. Mammadov also stressed that rational water utilization and the efforts to preserve water resources were important issues for the international community as a whole. He stated that as a result of the Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani territories, the huge fresh water reserves, including the Sarsang Reservoir, fell under control of the aggressor which created problems for Azerbaijan in the area of water supplies. Dr. Mammadov continued: "Resolving drinking water issues is one of the foreground policy directions of the government of Azerbaijan". According to him, to resolve the problems in the area it is neccessary to build reservoirs.

While speaking at the conference, Academician Secretary of the Department of Earth Sciences at ANAS Fakhraddin Kadyrov stressed the importance of the event. According to him, fresh water shortages affected one-third of the world population and some countries were already purchasing water from other states.  

The conference was attended by UN and UNESCO representatives, experts from Turkey, Georgia, the Netherlands, Bosnia, etc.