Global South Utilities Forum Identifies Investment Priorities For Energy And Water Infrastructure
The Global South Utilities Forum has started during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, with discussions centred on how emerging markets can secure capital and expertise for energy and water infrastructure. Delegates are assessing what is needed to deliver large pipelines of projects at speed and scale.
The first edition of the Global South Utilities Forum gathers ministers, policymakers, financiers, and institutional investors from Global South economies. Participants are reviewing how to channel more capital into emerging markets through innovative financing structures, risk-sharing tools, and sovereign support mechanisms that can unlock project pipelines.
Forum discussions place strong emphasis on financing models that work in higher-risk environments. Participants analyse blended finance, sovereign guarantees, and other risk mitigation approaches that can improve bankability. Speakers also look at how these tools can make long-term infrastructure investments more attractive for both public and private stakeholders.
A core ministerial session at the Global South Utilities Forum under Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 explores how government strategies can become bankable projects. Officials and experts discuss processes that convert national visions and policy frameworks into executable investments with clear revenue models and credible implementation timelines.
Technology deployment is another key theme at the Global South Utilities Forum. Sessions examine how emerging markets can roll out renewable energy, battery energy storage, off-grid power systems, desalination plants, and wastewater treatment solutions, including in remote locations where grid access is limited and infrastructure gaps remain wide.
The Global South Utilities Forum also addresses the growing influence of industrial off-takers operating outside standard utility models. Case studies from Africa show how contracts with industrial buyers, combined with appropriate regulation and risk allocation, can help projects become investable, scalable, and commercially sustainable over the long term.
In his opening remarks, Ali Al Shimmari, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Global South Utilities, a subsidiary of Resources Investment, says that while many continue to debate sustainability in Global South states, the UAE is already implementing projects and building practical solutions.
Ali Al Shimmari notes that Global South countries face clear pressures, including rising demand for energy, continuing infrastructure shortfalls, and the need for rapid execution alongside large investment volumes. These factors, according to Ali Al Shimmari, shape both project design and the expectations of investors and communities.
Ali Al Shimmari adds that progress does not come from capital alone, policy alone, or execution alone. Ali Al Shimmari explains that experience shows real advances when these elements move together, with governments, investors, and operators working within shared responsibility frameworks that focus on real projects, real financing, and measurable outcomes.
Sessions at the Global South Utilities Forum during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 study how policies can turn into projects, and how investments can turn into infrastructure. Delegates explore systems that support scalable energy, water, and finance solutions, helping emerging markets translate ambition into visible and lasting achievements.
With inputs from WAM
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