FOURTH WORLD WATER FORUM - AUSTRIAN RESPONSE

UNCLAS VIENNA 002545 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR OES/PCI (AARON SALZBERG) AND GENEVA (DONNA LEE) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SENV AU SUBJECT: FOURTH WORLD WATER FORUM - AUSTRIAN RESPONSE REF: STATE 136541 ¶1. (SBU) EconPolOff delivered reftel points to Aloisia Woergetter, Head of the MFA's Environment and Sustainable Development Bureau, on July 26. Woergetter said the GoA shares the USG's basic goals regarding the Fourth World Water Forum (WWF4). She noted, however, that Austria does not believe negotiating the text will be a problem, as previous WWF texts have usually been short and non-controversial. Woergetter opined that, because this is not a UN conference, the negotiation process would be less political and more efficient. According to Woergetter, the GoA is pleased that water and sanitation have been integrated into the program. The GoA also supports the inclusion of "water and cross-border conflict management" in the final WWF4 agenda. Brown