EU-China water summit begins in Turku today

A two-day high-level political conference on water cooperation between China and the EU will begin in Turku on Thursday, said a government press release.

The agenda of the conference are the water-related UN Sustainable Development Goals, water in circular economy, and strengthening the cooperation between European and Chinese water companies.

The event is also the Annual High Level Dialogue Conference of the China-Europe Water Platform (CEWP).

CEWP is a collaboration network of the European Union and the Ministry of Water Resources of China for the governance, research and companies in the water sector.

The conference will be held at Turku Castle. The Minister for Housing, Energy and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen will represent Finland in the conference while Minister of Water Resources of China Chen Lei, Minister of the Environment of Estonia Siim Kiisler, Minister for the Environment of Sweden Karolina Skog and European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Environment Karmenu Vella will also be present.

In connection with the conference there will be an extensive Business Event for Chinese and European companies in the water sector. Customised visits will be organised to Finnish companies striving to gain access to the Chinese markets. There will also be an innovation event for representatives from universities and research institutions.

The event is organised in cooperation between the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Southwest Finland, City of Turku, Regional Council of Southwest Finland, Regional Council of Satakunta, Southwest Coast Platform for Water Expertise and several partners in Finland and abroad, the Ministry of Water Resources of China and the EU Commission.

Finland is very active in the work of the CEWP. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will head the EU CEWP Secretariat in 2018–2019. This will further strengthen Finland’s position in the CEWP.