Parliamentarians from around the world came together in Amman, Jordan to develop a global action agenda for cooperative management of water resources. In a three-day event, "Improving Regional Cooperation on Water: A Key Opportunity for Preventive Diplomacy," EWI brought together parliamentarians to begin a process to prevent conflicts caused by water shortages.
“Water can be a source of conflict, but equally an opportunity for cooperation in mutual interest,” said Guenter Overfeld, Vice President and Director of Regional Security and Preventive Diplomacy at the EastWest Institute. “The parliamentarians coming together in Amman can help ensure that water becomes a cause for cooperation, not of conflict.”
The process is beginning the generate media attention with coverage in the Jordan Times, which also quotes Overfeld.
This session was hosted under the patronage of Prince El-Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. Also attending were water specialists from civil society and international and regional organizations around the world including the Arab Water Council, the Jordan Valley Authority, UNESCO, U.N.D.P, and the World Bank.
Among the parliamentarians:
- Abdullah Abdullah, Palestinian Territories
- Najat Al-Astal, Palestinian Territories
- Asha Hagi Amin, Somalia
- Angelika Beer, former member of the European Parliament from Germany
- Hazim El-Naser, Jordan
- Glyn Ford, former member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom
- Abu Holy, Palestininan Territories
- Zitto Kabwe, Tanzania
- Fouad Lahssaini, Belgium
- Luisa Morgantini, former member of the European Parliament from Italy
- Oshita Oshita, former member of the Nigerian Parliament; Director of the Department of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Nigeria
- Sahar Qawasmi,Palestinian Territories
- George Savage, Northern Ireland
- Jafar Shah, Pakistan
- Alaaden Yaghi, Palestinian Territories
