ISTANBUL: Chinese Water Resources Minister Chen Lei on Friday called for greater efforts to be made throughout the Asia-Pacific region to provide access to safe drinking water.

Speaking at the World Water Forum opening in the Turkish city, Chen called on countries in the region to work together to achieve sustainable development in the water sector.

Although almost two-thirds of the global population lives in the Asia-Pacific region, it only has one-third of the world's water resources, which are being further strained due to the region's development.