The Drought Prevention Institute (DPI) of the Organisation of Turk States (OTS), operated by the Hungarian Export Development Agency (HEPA), entered the international arena in March with a large-scale regional water forum is Brussels.
The high-level consultation and professional program, attended by a large audience from the governments and embassies of OTS member countries, academia, and the private sector, focused on a complex approach to integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations. In his keynote speech, Gábor Jenei, CEO of HEPA, mentioned several competitive, internationally recognized Hungarian tools and innovations that effectively contribute to sustainable agriculture and water management in OTS countries through DPI measures.
While a panel consisting of representatives of the Hungarian government, academia and the private sector drew attention to measures being implemented in the face of 21st-century challanges through sustainable water technology solutions, the roundtable of multilateral institutions focused on the key complementary role of development partners in mobilizing financial resources, political dialogue, ensuring technical capacity, and implementation and sectoral work.
The strategic cooperation between HEPA and the umbrella organizations of Hungarian environmental industry players (HAEE and KEXPORT) was reinforced by a memorandum of understanding reflecting concrete measures in the water industry for the benefit of vulnerable regions.
In addition, the event provided an excellent opportunity to coordinate DPI’s future exposure with DG INTPA in line with some existing EU-level agreements and instruments, including the Water, Energy and Climate Policy Initiative, as well as some upcoming calls for proposals that could attract competitive technology providers ready to engage and develop business in the water sector outside the EU, including in the Turkish region.
In the weeks since the event, HAEE and KEXPORT have begun developing their drought prevention portfolio, gathering opportunities, technologies, and innovations from their members. As a follow-up, a water management working group meeting was held with renowned speakersn and the working material for the “drought portfolio” was presented.
