Mansour, underlined the importance of desalination in dealing with the world's potential water shortage. "Desalination has decisively proven its reliability to deliver large quantities of fresh water from the sea, from brackish resources and through water reuse. Fresh water is no longer the infinitely renewable resource that we once thought it was. Unlike oil, fresh water has no viable substitute and its depletion both in quantity and quality bodes even more profound economic and social effects. The sea is the unlimited source from which we can create new fresh water through desalination." The congress brings together experts and water industry personnel and many government officials from some 42 countries. More than 150 technical papers covering the latest advancements in desalination design, construction, operations, maintenance and finance will be presented at this conference and delegates will also see the latest technologies and services in desalination and water reuse presented by 58 major industry players at an exhibition. As well as Al-Husayyen and Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Dr. Khamis Mubarak Issa Al-Alawi, Oman's minister for housing, electricity and Water also attended the conference.
