FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2002

Contact:
Lori Burkhammer
(703) 684-2400

International Events Available at WEFTEC 2002 in Chicago

"Conference Provides Forum for Asian and Eastern European Markets"

(Alexandria, VA) - The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announces two new international business opportunities available for attendees of WEFTEC 2002 in Chicago, IL, September 28-October 2. Available through the assistance of the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership Exchange Program For Sustainable Growth (US-AEP) and Eurasia's American Partnership For Environmentally Sustainable Economies (ECOLINKS), conference exhibitors wishing to conduct business internationally will be able to meet with buyers and market experts from Asia and Eastern Europe.

The US-AEP is a public-private and interagency partnership led by the United States Agency for International Development and is designed as a collaborative effort to share and transfer U.S. environmental best practices, experience, and technology with developing Asian countries. The goal of the US-AEP is to integrate sustainable development, environmental goals, and trade for the benefit of both Asia and the United States. For the ninth consecutive year, WEFTEC exhibitors and conference participants will meet with Asian buyers and market experts from India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam to discuss specific products and services as well as gain insight on upcoming market opportunities to achieve commercial success in Asia which currently has a $50 billion (U.S.) environmental technology market and over $34 billion (U.S.) of work in the water and wastewater industry. To date, US-AEP's efforts have generated more than $1.4 billion (U.S.) in transactions for U.S. companies with more than $6 million resulting from its partnership with WEF.

In addition to US-AEP, the WEFTEC 2002 Global Center will also partner with ECOLINKS to bring conference attendees and exhibitors together with technology representatives and delegations from Eastern Europe to facilitate partnerships with U.S. companies and pursue specific water technologies. ECOLINKS is an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and seeks practical, market-based solutions to industrial and urban environmental problems in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union. Trade leads, market information, and matched one-on-one business meetings with delegates from Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia are a few of the services that the WEFTEC 2002 Global Center and ECOLINKS will offer to conference attendees and exhibitors.

Additionally, trade delegations are expected from China, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. Individual registrants are expected from more than 50 countries.

For additional information about WEFTEC 2002 and these programs, please visit www.weftec.org. To schedule a meeting or obtain additional information about US-AEP activities, please contact Kim Mihalik at kmihalik@usaep.org or fax (202) 835-046. For ECOLINKS information, contact John McGill at (202) 312-2949; mcgillj@ctcgsc.org or Brittany Whiting at (202) 312-2941; whitingb@ctcgsc.org. For more information about other trade delegations, contact Kathi Springer at (703) 684-2414.

Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in 32 countries.