Managing Committee Meeting

Regional Mechanism experts discuss progress
Technical experts of the Blue Peace Middle East Regional Mechanism met in Istanbul in January to discuss the initiative’s progress and ongoing projects and activities.

The Blue Peace Middle East (BPME) Regional Mechanism is part of the Blue Peace Middle East Initiative. It aims to strengthen cooperation on water among member countries, by stimulating dialogue, encouraging knowledge exchange and organising regional trainings and meetings. The Regional Mechanism is a three-tiered structure, made up of a Policy Advisory Committee, a Managing Committee and a Coordination Office. The meeting, which was held on 28 and 29 January 2020 in Istanbul, was hosted by the Turkish Water Institute (SUEN), which currently serves as the BPME Coordination Office.

Delegates from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey discussed a range of topics, including the formation and future role of the Policy Advisory Committee; an update on the Agricultural Water Use Efficiency project; and planning for the Water Use and Efficiency training programme.

Delegates agreed on the continued need for trust-building among regional partners and reiterated the importance of data collection and information exchange between members countries.

The two-day meeting was organised in cooperation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and included a session during which the different Blue Peace Middle East programme partners presented their projects.

At the end of the meeting, SUEN vice-president Prof Dr Bülent İnanç was unanimously elected as chair of the Managing Committee.