Dutch delegation in Iran on water and ports trade mission
Iran Minister of energy, Hamid Chitchian, and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment Melanie Schultz Van Haegen signed a memorandum of understanding on water and energy in Teheran, Iran on 23 October.
At the signing ceremony, Chitchian expressed the hope that cooperation on environment, water and energy, industry and agriculture will boost relations between Iran and the Netherlands.
Minister Schultz van Haegen is leading a week long trade mission to Iran on port development and water management. The trade mission also includes meetings between Dutch and Iranian business (see top photo).
Dutch trade delegation visiting a water treatment plant in Teheran....
Water scarcity
The minister said that Iran has faced 15 years constant drought, so shortage of water is a serious and permanent threat to the country.
Given the valuable experience and technologies of the Netherlands in the field of water, Chitchian invited Dutch companies to bid for the tenders Iran has announced.
In the past some 3,000 Iranian experts completed training courses on water management in the Netherlands.
In February this year an agreement was signed between Unesco-IHE in Delft and the University of Teheran to start training courses on issues such as water accounting and water allocation at river basin level, irrigation engineering and management, drought mitigation, desalination and reuse of wastewater effluent.
Water treatment and port logistics
On the occasion of her visit minister Schultz van Haegen addressed the fact that Iran has been closed to Western companies for almost a decade and its need for knowledge and products in water management and port development. "In these fields the Netherlands excels", she said.
"This provides Dutch companies with a host of opportunities in the fields of efficient water consumption, water purification, and water desalinisation. Our companies also have a great deal to offer when it comes to ports and logistics"
...and visiting a beverage factory.
Several visits
The schedule of the trade delegation features a visit to a water treatment plant in Teheran and to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
In the years ahead, Iran is planning major investments in port development. Dutch companies such as BAM, Van Oord, and the Port of Rotterdam command a great deal of expertise in this regard, and are also represented on the Dutch delegation.
Other companies participating in the trade mission are Damen Shipyards, Royal Boskalis Westminster, Royal IHC, STC Groep, and Witteveen + Bos.
Dutch companies and organizations that address the water component of the trade mission, include Adverio waste systems, Amstelland, Berson UV, Dutch water authorities, Interact smart solutions, Witteveen + Bos, and the Netherlands Water Partnership.
Wetskills challenge
In conjunction with the trade mission the Wetskills Challenge for water students takes place in Teheran. It is the first time this challenge takes place in Iran. During the event, 25 students and young professionals from Iran and The Netherlands work together in teams to come up with out-of-the-box concepts for actual water related cases, posed by Iranian and Dutch case owners.
The Sharif University of Technology Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran are jointly hosting the event.
Since 2010 21 Wetskills events have been organized worldwide, in 16 different countries, involving more than 400 participants and 100 universities and organizations.
This news item is based on a press release published on the website of the Dutch ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
Read also on this website
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● Ilyas Masih successfully defended PhD at Unesco-IHE in Delft, 27 June 2011
● Country page: Iran
More information
Netherlands Water Partnership
The Hague, the Netherlands
+31 70 304 37 00
www.nwp.nl/en
Wetskills
The Hague, the Netherlands
info@wetskills.com
www.wetskills.com