Given the large number of people around the world unable to access potable water, the second Saudi International Water Technology Conference 2014 to be held next month will focus on water security during the brainstorming session of local and foreign experts.

The experts will give presentations on the latest developments in water technologies including desalination, recycling and the development and manufacture of specialized membranes.

The three-day conference will kick off on Feb. 23 in Riyadh with the keynote address on King Abdullah initiative for solar water desalination by Dr. Turki bin Saud, vice president for research Institutes, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technolgy (KACST), which will host the conference.

Divided into various sessions, it would further discuss acute shortage of water around the world and the strategic and vital concerns facing the Kingdom in this field, KACST media center said on Sunday.

The Kingdom faces a number of limitations in terms of water resources.

“Not only is a clean, fresh water supply vital for the health of people living in the Kingdom, it is also vital for the development of the Kingdom, so the focus of the topics for discussion at this conference will be in areas that will help the Kingdom enhance its water security, and promote development by adopting new innovations in water technologies,” officials at the center underlined.

Notably, around 780 million people in the world do not have access to potable water and the matter is of great concern as the potable water crisis will have adverse effect on people. According to a recent report by OECD, an international organization to stimulate economic progress, the ongoing water crisis will push about 50 percent people globally to face acute water shortage in the days to come.

Echoing the concerns, a United Nations report said: “By the year 2025, as many as 30 countries will face acute water shortage and 18 of them will be from the Middle East and North Africa.”

Significantly, fresh water availability is only three percent on earth’s surface, while the remaining 97 percent of the water on our planet is saline.

Therefore, the forthcoming conference in the Saudi capital would be a unique gathering of leading water technology experts from around the world as the brainstorming session on the acute water crisis is expected to come out with concerted efforts on the serious issue.