DUSHANBE, November 29, Asia-Plus  -- President Emomali Rahmon will leave for Japan on December 1 to attend the First Asia-Pacific Water Summit, which will be held in Beppu, Oita, Japan on December 3-4.

During his visit, President Rahmon is also expected to hold talks with high-ranking Japanese state officials.  

Tajikistan and Japan have close cooperation. Japan has supported numerous humanitarian and development activities in Tajikistan through awarding grants.  

Under the Grant Assistance for Grass Roots Human Security Projects, the Government of Japan has extended to the total grant of US$ 12,542,079 for 201 projects since 1996.  

The First Asia-Pacific Water Summit aims to address water resources management, water financing and others water issues in the Asia Pacific region.   It will focus on three priority themes -- water financing, water-related disaster management and water for development and ecosystems.  

The summit, which has invited government heads of the Asia Pacific region, companies and organizations, also aims to encourage private sectors to invest in water management, boost better coordination and collaborations between governments in dealing with water pollution.   .

The meeting also hopes to promote inner-Asia knowledge sharing over water resource management and call on public awareness of water.  

According to statistics, some 700 million people in the Asia Pacific region were without access to safe drinking water in 2004 and some 1.9 billion people still lacked access to improved sanitation facilities in the region.