Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan has called for international cooperation in promoting rational use of groundwater.

In his congratulatory letter to the 34th Congress of the International Association of Hydrologists (IAH), which opened in Beijing on Monday, Zeng congratulated the IAH on its 50th anniversary and extended his welcome to more than 500 participants from around the world.

The government has attached great importance to the development and protection of water resources by treating the rational use of water resources and the protection of the environment as key issues in the harmonious social and economic development of the country, said the vice premier.

Zeng expressed his wish that through the platform of the IAH Congress, technological cooperation will be enhanced to promote the rational development of groundwater resources and environmental protection around the world.

The congress has been organized by the IAH and the Ministry of Land and Resources. Lasting from Monday to Friday, the congress is based on a "status and future of groundwater" theme.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)