As a result of the 1st Meeting of the OIC Water Council, hosted by our country on 15-16 November 2017 in Istanbul under the coordination of SUEN, it was decided to establish the Network of Water Centers of Excellence. 

In this regard, the 1st Meeting of Networking of Water Centers of Excellence in OIC Member States was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 24-25 February 2025. The meeting, organized under the overall coordination of the OIC General Secretariat, was hosted by COMSTECH in cooperation with SESRIC and INWRDAM.

As part of the meeting, SUEN Project Development and Implementation Coordinator Mustafa Salih Sarıkaya made a presentation titled as “A Regional Perspective on Cooperation Opportunities in Light of the Developments in Water and Wastewater Technologies, Solutions and Approaches”. In his speech; water stress levels and predictions in OIC countries, innovation trends in the water sector, new trends and approaches in water and wastewater management as well as regional cooperation mechanisms were touched upon. In closing, it was recommended that a mapping study be conducted to identify strengths and needs among countries in order to develop cooperation among water centers of excellence in the future.

The meeting is an important step towards strengthening research, knowledge sharing and collective actions on water security among OIC member countries.