Chapter 477: Water is more expensive than oil

In late June, East China is full of rain and flooding, threatening the normal production and life order of the region, but at this time in the Middle East, it is sunny weather, in the afternoon, a round of scorching sun hangs high in the air, the surface temperature will rise sharply to more than 40 degrees Celsius, and the extreme temperature can even approach or even exceed 50 degrees. In such weather, if you walk in an open area without shelter, it will not take long for people to suffer from heat stroke, which can even be life-threatening.

Fang Mingyuan, who had stopped in Pengxu City for a while, had to rush to Kuwait after being convinced that the extent of the flood was far less than the disaster caused by the East China flood in 91 years in his previous life. As for the distribution of disaster relief materials in Pengxu City and the surrounding areas, it had to be handed over to Su Aijun and Lin Lian. For this reason, Su Aijun was quite dissatisfied - his Fengtong railway reform plan was nearing completion, and if Fang Mingyuan hadn't found it out for him, he would rarely even return home now.

For Fang Mingyuan's arrival, the Kuwaiti royal family gave him a very high-level reception, if it weren't for Fang Mingyuan's stern refusal, Prince Abdullah could even send a special plane to China. Not only did Prince Abdullah personally go to the airport to greet him, but there was also a man named Nahar. Vubach's Deputy Foreign Minister accompanied him.

"Dear Fang, you're finally here," Prince Abdullah gave Fang Mingyuan a warm hug when they met. For Fang Mingyuan's arrival, there is no one happier than him. Thanks to Fang Mingyuan's help, Prince Abdullah's status in the royal family is now extraordinary, and among princes of the same age, he is even more outstanding. Prince Abdullah knew very well that without Fang Mingyuan's guidance and help, he would not have been able to achieve such a significant improvement in status in such a short period of time.

"Fang, let me introduce you to me, this is my Kuwaiti Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Nahal Ahmad. Mr. Wubach: "Prince Abdullah pulled Fang Ming away.

"Hello, Lord Wubach" After listening to Prince Abdullah's introduction, Fang Mingyuan was really taken aback. Although Kuwait is a small country, it is also a country, as the government's deputy minister of foreign affairs, he is also a high-ranking official, if he goes to China, it is estimated that the deputy prime minister will have to meet him, and he actually came to the airport to greet him, which sounds a little unbelievable.

"Haha, Mr. Fang, I have heard Abdullah say your name many times, during the Iraqi invasion of our country, Mr. Fang helped us a lot, I am here, on behalf of the Kuwaiti government, to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Fang" After Wubach finished speaking, he also gave Fang Mingyuan a very warm hug, "You are our closest friend of Kuwaitis and Abdullah"

"No, no, Uncle Nahar, Fang is my brother," Prince Abdullah shook his head.

"Uncle?" Fang Mingyuan was a little surprised.

"Uncle Nahar is my mother's younger brother Fang, you can also call him Uncle Nahar in the future," Prince Abdullah explained to Fang Mingyuan in a low voice. If this Deputy Minister of Vubach is the younger brother of Prince Abdullah's mother, isn't he the uncle of Prince Abdullah? Only then did Fang Mingyuan notice that the two did look a little similar. Fang Mingyuan then remembered that Kuwait is still a monarchy, and many of these cabinet ministers are members of the royal family or relatives who are married to the royal family.

"Alright, well, I see, it's Abdullah your brother," Woobach said with a smile. For his nephew, Wubach also attaches great importance to him, so for his insistence, Wubach will let it go.

What's more, this Fang Mingyuan, his deeds are now a little bizarre in the Kuwaiti royal family. Abdullah was able to make friends with him, which can be regarded as a powerful foreign aid. In any case, Huaxia is also one of the five permanent members of the United Nations, and although its influence in the Middle East is far less than that of the United States and Britain, Kuwait must not be ignored. This Fang Mingyuan was able to break out of the world in China at a young age, and his future is immeasurable. Abdullah's friendship with him can be said to be beneficial and harmless.

The three of them laughed and got into the car, drove out of the airport, and headed for Kuwait City.

Fang Mingyuan noticed that construction was going on near the coastline, and he couldn't help but take a few more looks. Prince Abdullah noticed this, looked out the window twice and said with a smile: "Fang, you are coming to Kuwait for the first time, it is our desalination plant The evil Iraqis, when they invaded our country, they destroyed part of our desalination plant. ”

Fang Mingyuan knows that the Middle East is a water-scarce region, and water resources are quite scarce. The Middle East accounts for 9 percent of the world's land area, but less than 1 percent of Shijie's water resources, most of which are concentrated in the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates river basins, as well as the Jordan Valley. Drinking water is a scarce and dwindling necessity throughout the Middle East, becoming an irreplaceable resource that is scarcer than oil.

The climate here is dry and rainfall is scarce, such as Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is only about 200 kilometers away from the Mediterranean Sea, and the Nile River runs through the city, but the average annual precipitation is only more than 20 millimeters. With such low precipitation, it is simply not enough to meet the local water demand.

Therefore, in the Middle East, the price of water in various countries is generally more expensive than the price of oil. Fang Mingyuan remembers reading a report in his previous life, and forgot what year it was, when in Saudi Arabia, the largest oil country in Shijie, the price of a liter of No. 91 gasoline was about $0.12, and the price of a liter of bottled drinking water was as high as about $0.40. In Egypt, the most populous country in the Middle East, a liter of 90 gasoline costs about $0.33, while a liter of mineral water costs about $0.34. In the United Arab Emirates, the oil powerhouse of the Gulf, a litre of gasoline costs only about $0.45, almost the same price as water. It may sound incredible, but that's the reality in the Middle East.

"Fang, I heard that there was a flood in your country?" Prince Abdullah said curiously.

"Yes, tens of millions of people have been affected by the disaster, and the losses are huge." Fang Mingyuan sighed and said, "In the past half a month, there has been heavy rain almost every two days, and even the city is full of stagnant water. Alas, you have a shortage of water here and you need to desalinate it, while we have suffered from too much water, and it would be nice if it could be even. ”

Prince Abdullah and Uhbach both gasped, although they had known that China had a large population, but they were still quite shocked to hear that tens of millions of people had been affected by the disaster - the total population of Kuwait was only five or six million, and half of them were foreign workers from Kuwait.

"Ahem, that's the difficulty of each in its own way. You are flooding there because of the water, but we are fighting here because of the lack of water. Wubach said with emotion.

He is talking about several wars in the Middle East, in which Israel and the Arab countries have never been able to live in peace, on the one hand, because of the problem of land, and on the other hand, because of the problem of water. Sixty percent of Israel's territory is desert, with no rain for seven months a year, and less than 300 cubic meters of water per capita per year, less than a quarter of the per capita water resources target in the Middle East and only 3 percent of the per capita water resources target of Shijie. In order to obtain precious water resources, Israel would rather make enemies with its neighbors than back down.

Moreover, it is not uncommon for Arab countries to have conflicts and frictions over water sources.

Moreover, after the Second World War, the relatively peaceful situation and the continuous development of science and technology and medical care have also kept the population of the Middle East much above the average of Shijie - an average annual growth rate of 3 percent, and the increasing population has exacerbated the water stress situation. In addition, the overexploitation of the existing water resources in the region has led to a further decline in the per capita water resources in the region, and the water resources are stretched. According to statistics, the current annual per capita freshwater supply in the region is only more than 1,000 cubic meters, which is one-sixth of the average Shijie.

It can be said that the Middle East region feeds Arabs, who account for only 1 percent of Shijie's water resources, and the water problem has become a major obstacle to the region's economic development, and if it cannot be properly resolved, it may even lead to a series of economic, social and political crises. Woobach is very clear about the danger in this.

Since traditional water resources simply cannot meet their needs, these Arab countries have had to hope for desalination. Desalination has a long history in the region and has had successful experiences. Over the past decade or so, these Arab countries have invested tens of billions of dollars in desalination plants and supporting water supply networks. What Fang Mingyuan just saw was the two desalination plants under construction in Kuwait.

Fang Mingyuan knows that the desalination of seawater in Middle East countries has been quite developed after 2,000 years, and the cost of desalination has also dropped to a few tenths of a dollar per cubic meter. It's just that this jishu is completely useless for Huaxia. The arid areas of China are not close to the sea at all, but there is no shortage of water at all in the places near the sea.

"How? Fang, are you interested in investing in our desalination industry, I can guarantee you that you will have sufficient profits," Prince Abdullah said with a smile.

Fang Mingyuan smiled dumbly and said: "Prince Abdullah, if it is possible, I would prefer to invest in your country's oil production industry, because my motherland needs oil more."