Ankara - Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday called for international cooperation to help ensure water security throughout the world. "One billion people do not have access to clean water. Some 2.5 billion do not have access to proper sanitation. Half of the world experiences water problems," Gul said at the opening of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul.
Just before Gul addressed the forum, police took into custody at least 17 people who took part in protests outside the venue against what they said was the way the forum's participants treat water as a commodity and not as a right for all, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Police used tear gas to try and break up a group of around 150 people who were attempting to march to the congress venue of the forum on the Golden Horn, near the Bosporus Straights.
Some 20,000 people from more than 130 countries were in Istanbul for the forum which is held every three years. The forum aims to bring together people from both within and outside the water sector in order to find sustainable solutions to the world's water challenges.
"The forum offers the water community and policy-and-decision- makers from all over the world the unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security," according the World Water Council which organizes the event.
The forum runs until March 22.
