The water market in emerging countries: an opportunity for French companies? - Youth Diplomacy conference

at 7pm at Science Po Paris
First conference of the "Water Geopolitics" division of the student union Youth Diplomacy.

with

Thierry Mallet
Senior Executive Vice President at Suez Environment in charge of International sector

Franck Galland
Research associate at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) expert in geopolitics of water

Water provision is an increasingly urgent development issue on the global agenda. But it is also an industry that offers broad development opportunities for companies that have expertise in this area.
NGOs are already playing a leading role in promoting programs to increase access to safe drinking water. But their actions can not alone cope with the scale of this need. International organizations are increasingly inclined to consider that private sector involvement is essential, especially in emerging countries like China or India, where economic growth often happens at the expense of environment and water resources. Yet this implies that the private sector adapts its strategy and cooperates with other public sector partners and with the civil society in view of the Millennium Development Goals.

The current environment offers real opportunities for companies specializing in cleaning, treating and distributing water, water infrastructure, information technology, demand reduction, desalination or monitoring pipes ... many areas where companies like Suez Environnement French are particularly pointed.

• What is their development strategy? Why do they rely on some countries and not others? What are the sectors that French companies prefer?
• Public development aid, as generous as it is, will not be able to provide all necessary means to solve the issue of access to drinking water. How can we define the role of the private water operators in developing or poor countries so that they contribute to the goals of the Millennium Development Goals?

Free admission

Access
Science Po Paris, 27 rue Saint Guillaume 75006 Paris
Rue du Bac Metro (12) or Saint-Germain-des-Prés (4)

For more information, contact: Iris Delahaye (iris.delahaye @ youth-diplomacy.org - 06 98 30 29 19)

The conference is organized with the support of the 6^th World Forum on Water and Science Po Environment.

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