World Water Day 2021: Water will be the key to Middle East peace in the coming years. Here's why:

Today, on #WorldWaterDay, it is becoming clear that water will be a key driver of peace in the Middle East in the coming years.

Israel is known as a world leader in water technology, from water recycling to desalination to precision agriculture. In fact, Israel reuses almost 90% of its water, far more than any other country.

The UAE, Bahrain and other Gulf countries are gearing up for a period of rapid growth, while also setting ambitious goals for resource efficiency, and water and food security. For example, the just released Dubai 2040 Master Plan foresees the city’s population growing from 3.3M today to 5.8M in 2040. Yesterday, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced a new “national water and energy demand management programme to increase the efficiency of the three most energy-consuming sectors (transport, industry and construction) by 40%”.

Secure access to clean water is an urgent issue affecting all peoples, and especially all the peoples of the arid Middle East. The UAE and Bahrain are numbers 5 and 6 on the list of countries with the lowest annual rainfall per year. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are numbers 3 and 4. Oman is 11.

Cooperation between Israel and the countries of the Gulf on water innovation and management will bring great mutual benefits. In the coming years, the basic human need for clean water, combined with cutting-edge watertech innovation, will not only lead to economic deals worth hundreds of millions, but will strengthen people-to-people peace.