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Gorbachev
Leads a Fact-Finding Water Mission to the Middle
East
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| Amman,
Jordan, 2 March-- Green Cross International,
a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO), led by Mikhail
Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, today completed
a three-day fact-finding mission to Israel, the Palestinian Authority
and Jordan on possible solutions to the region's increasingly scarce
water resources. |
| The
mission, which brought together high-level representatives of the
public and private sectors from Europe, the United States and South
America, was warmly received here today by His Majesty King Abdullah
II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and yesterday in Jerusalem
by Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and by the Chairman of the
Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, in Ramallah. The 20 members
of the mission also met relevant government officials and water
experts of the region. |
| As
Green Cross's preparatory work in the region has made clear, there
is no single miracle solution to the region's growing water shortage.
|
| Mr.
Gorbachev said that "that will require a package of technical,
institutional and financial arrangements and innovations. In order
to achieve a breakthrough on this vital issue, we need to depart
from traditional approaches and adopt a new vison of creative and
innovative solutions. We hope to reach that goal by focussing on
non-political aspects of the region's water problems. |
| "Our
mission was encouraged by the fact that the three leaders recognized
that the water problem in the Jordan Valley and the whole Middle
East is now beyond the scope of any individual state to solve, and
that sustainable solutions have to be found through cooperation.
|
| "As
I observed, most people in the region understand that the real solution
lies in an integrated approach supported by the international community."
|
| The
three leaders accepted Green Cross's proposal to create a Consultative
Group of international personalities from the private sector, of
NGOs, and of representatives of each country which has proposed
ways of increasing private investments in the region in order to
help solve the explosive question of water scarcity. |
| The
outcome of the Green Cross delegation's discussions with the King,
the Prime Minister and the Chairman will be made public on Monday,
20 March, at a session called "Water for Peace in the Middle
East," at the 2nd. World Water Forum in The Hague, Netherlands.
Following this session, President Gorbachev will give a press conference.
|
Contact:
Paul Ress, Green Cross International, Geneva,
tel. (41.22) 789 1662 or (41.22) 734 98 13. |
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