A comprehensive picture of Hungary's and China's water status, water management and of opportunities for professional cooperation between the two countries was provided by Deputy Minister for Water Dong Li and Deputy State Secretary for Water Péter Kovács at a press conference held at the Ministry of Rural Development I Budapest. The session of the Hungarian-Chinese workshop of water policy and flood protection is the result of the cooperation agreement signed by Minister Sándor Fazekas in April in China.

"Hungary and China are committed to strengthening and developing exchange relations and cooperations within the field of water management. Professional relations between the two countries have a long history, with regular high level and professional visits over recent years", stated the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development at the workshop meeting. Péter Kovács drew attention to the fact that both countries must face the expected effects of global climate change, such as the problems of flooding, intensive rainfall and drought, the handling of which is also an important element of the cooperation.

"Hungary is performing exceedingly important work in the field of water management within the framework of several international cooperation agreements", said the Deputy State Secretary for Water. Péter Kovács reminded those present that the European Union's Danube Macro-Regional Strategy was adopted during the Hungarian presidency of the EU. The Deputy State Secretary also mentioned the fact that at the Rio+20 summit Hungary had made it clear that it wishes to take on a leading role in the issue of water. In this spirit Hungary plans to host a global conference next year, one of the main topics of which will be the issue of water supply.

"The country's water stocks play a key role in China's economic development", stated Dong Li. In his presentation, the Chinese Deputy Minister for Water said that it is precisely for this reason that the Chinese government is handling the rehabilitation of existing water management installations and water management as priority issues. Comprehensive water management reforms are to be carried out by 2020, important elements of which include the handling of problems related to flooding and drought, efficient water stock management and increasing the security of the water supply.

"China is currently working to combat flooding, but droughts also pose a serious problem each year. 53 percent of the country's area is affected to some extent by water scarcity, which in turn affects both agriculture and industry", the Chinese Deputy Minister noted in his lecture. Dong Li also stated, "Irrigation is performed on some 60 million hectares, and since 2004 – with no increase in water use – agricultural production has shown an increasing tendency in China, something which is expected to also continue this year according to preliminary calculations."

This current Hungarian-Chinese workshop session on water is just one form of the joint exchange of information and knowledge, which in addition to professionals from the Ministry of Rural Development is also being attended by representatives of the Ministries of the Economy and Foreign Affairs, science and education, and of the private sector.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)