RIYADH – The Budapest Water Summit will be held in Budapest on Oct. 8-11, 2013, a statement from Ambassador of Hungary to Saudi Arabia Miklos Kallay said Monday. The Summit, organized by the Hungarian government in cooperation with the UN System and the World Water Council, will be one of the major events of the year relating to water and sanitation, it noted. The main objective of the Budapest Water Summit is to take stock of the various developments, within and outside the UN System, in preparing water-related goals for the post Rio+20 development agenda. During the four days, governments (from developed and developing countries), international organizations, financial institutions, businesses as well as civil society and science will gather in Budapest to discuss the most pressing challenges of water and sanitation. The Summit strives to provide defining contributions to the elaboration of one overarching SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on water and sanitation that corresponds and responds to multidimensional challenges. Adaptation to the water-related challenges generated by the unstoppable wave of urbanization and the effects of climate change is now a major issue for long-term business planning. Therefore, the Budapest Water Summit has a special focus on bringing together the business leaders active in the water and sanitation industry to generate a vibrant debate shaping the future, the statement further said. Sustainable demand side management and the security of supply have become major challenges not only for the most water-intense industries (food, energy, chemicals) but also for less exposed economic activities. Thus the Summit cannot succeed without the integration of the broader business view on all relevant policy considerations shaping the future water SDG. The Business Leaders Forum creates an interface for business leaders to meet international, national and local policy-makers, development financial institutions and agencies, leading scientists as well as civil society. The Water and Sanitation Expo as an integrated element of the whole Summit will focus on clean, innovative and affordable solutions in the field of water and sanitation, clustered into the following areas. For more information, visit http://www.budapestwatersummit.hu/budapest-water-summit/news/ — SG
