HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Opens One Water Summit To Tackle Global Water Scarcity

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, inaugurated the One Water Summit. The event is co-chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, French President Emmanuel Macron, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and World Bank President Ajay Banga. Before the summit began, HRH the Crown Prince and other leaders posed for a group photograph.

The One Water Summit brings together nations, international bodies, financial institutions, and private sector representatives. The aim is to engage in global discussions to find solutions for water sector challenges and financing within environmental contexts. This initiative responds to the growing global water crisis caused by climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

In his opening speech at the summit, HRH the Crown Prince expressed a warm welcome to attendees in Saudi Arabia. He conveyed greetings from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and wished success for the summit. "Your Excellencies, esteemed guests, Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you," he said. He emphasised Saudi Arabia's commitment to addressing water scarcity and drought challenges collaboratively.

The summit coincides with Saudi Arabia hosting the 16th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16). This conference aims to reduce land degradation and drought as lands are crucial sources of fresh water. The world faces increasing challenges in the water sector due to rising drought rates.

HRH highlighted that these challenges lead to crises threatening water availability and increasing desertification risks. This situation necessitates collective efforts for sustainable water resource management. During its G20 presidency in 2020, Saudi Arabia included water issues in the work plan for the first time.

The Kingdom committed over $6 billion to support more than 200 development projects in over 60 developing countries' water sectors worldwide. Looking forward, Saudi Arabia will host the 11th World Water Forum in 2027 with the World Water Council.

Establishing a Global Water Organization

Saudi Arabia announced plans for a global water organization headquartered in Riyadh. This organization aims to unify efforts of nations and organizations in addressing comprehensive water challenges. It will focus on harmonizing international efforts and promoting innovative solutions through expertise exchange.

The Kingdom calls on United Nations member states, international organizations, and private sectors to join this organization. "We hope that the international community's collective efforts in addressing water challenges will help us achieve our aspirations in this vital field," HRH stated.

The summit aspires to incubate actionable solutions for tackling water challenges ahead of the United Nations Water Conference in 2026. It seeks to address escalating global issues driven by climate change impacts on biodiversity loss and pollution affecting water resources.

With inputs from SPA