UAE And Senegal Launch Multilateral Process For The 2026 UN Water Conference

The United Arab Emirates and Senegal, co-hosts of the 2026 UN Water Conference, gathered the international community for an Organisational Session on 3rd March 2025 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This session allowed Member States and stakeholders to share insights and recommendations for the six interactive dialogues that will shape the 2026 Conference, focusing on global water challenges and advancing Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6).

Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, and Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Senegal Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, delivered opening speeches. They stressed their nations' commitment to a collaborative preparatory process aimed at a successful 2026 Conference. The event aims to unite the world in collective progress on water issues.

Balalaa highlighted the UAE's dedication to accelerating innovative global water action through knowledge sharing, international cooperation, investment, and technological solutions. He stated, "For the UAE, water shapes our history, our present, and our future, fostering deep resilience, resourcefulness, and ingenuity."

Dieye emphasised the importance of turning commitments into actions for water and sanitation. He remarked that the conference is a historic opportunity to address these issues inclusively. "The time is no longer for reflection or recommendations, but for action," he noted.

The UAE and Senegal urged all stakeholders—governments, international organisations, NGOs, civil society groups—to elevate their ambitions for global water action. Despite some progress, current statistics reveal that 2.2 billion people lack clean drinking water while 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation services.

The session included Li Junhua from UN DESA and Alvaro Lario from UN Water among its 72 participants. These included representatives from UN entities, NGOs, civil society groups, and private sector stakeholders.

Preparations for Future Meetings

Following this session, UN DESA will draft a background note on proposed themes with input from Member States and support from UN-Water. These themes will be finalised during a meeting led by the President of the General Assembly on 9th July 2025.

A high-level preparatory meeting is planned in Dakar before December's main conference after adopting themes and selecting co-chairs for interactive dialogues.

The UAE is enthusiastic about co-hosting this significant event with Senegal to advance SDG 6 on ensuring sustainable water management globally. Water stress impacts food security, public health, economic stability—and achieving SDG6 is crucial for unlocking all 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

With inputs from WAM