Egyptian minister speaks on water problems

Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and the State for Scientific Research Mufid Shehab told the Arab Water and Desertification Conference that, "Climatic changes, drought, desertification and over consumption, caused by population increase, are the main factors that will lead to the depletion of the region's water resources." He said the desertification "causes eventual depletion of resources. It causes regional economic losses worth billions of dollars annually." 16 Arab states are participating in the conference.