Abu Dhabi: The International Water Summit to be held next month in the capital will witness the launch of about 44 new technologies and products to solve growing acute shortage of water.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the most water scarce region in the world: home to 6.3 per cent of the world’s population but only 1.4 per cent of the world’s renewable fresh water. The Gulf region consumes over 60 per cent of the world’s desalinated water. The UAE is using over 70 per cent of domestic energy to supply and transport water.

“Water is more important than oil for the UAE,” said General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, while announcing the summit early this year.

The International Water Summit is expected to be major new global platform for promoting water sustainability in arid regions.

Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is hosting the summit as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week along with the World Future Energy Summit from January 15 to 17 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

This high-level platform offers a unique opportunity to network with global politicians, water experts and leaders from the public and private sectors. It will discuss the nexus between mankind’s two most vital resources: water and energy, an executive at Reed Exhibitions, which is organizing the exhibitions at the summit, told Gulf News.

Peter McConnel, Show Director, said the 44 new technologies and products to be launched in the summit will help the mankind to address the water scarcity.

Certain technologies will help reduce the costs of the desalination that the Gulf region rely too much on for fresh water, he said.

International organizations such as the United Nations, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and International Desalination Association (IDA) will participate in the summit.

The summit will discuss the ways to reduce the consumption of water especially in agriculture by using latest technologies.

Experts will look into the solutions to a major problem of leaking water pipes in the region, he said. About 8 to 12 projects will be introduced at the summit as the industrial solutions to the water scarcity. The summit will also initiate a public awareness to reduce the consumption of water.