UAE and Senegal Kick Off Preparations for 2026 UN Water Conference

High-Level Organizational Session Marks the Beginning of Preparations

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Senegal have officially kicked off the multilateral process for the 2026 UN Water Conference.

The Organizational Session of the Conference took place on March 3, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This session served as an opportunity for Member States and stakeholders to share their insights and recommendations for the themes of the six interactive dialogues that will drive the 2026 Conference.

Focus on Global Water Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals

The six interactive dialogues will focus on addressing global water challenges and advancing progress to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

The session opened with high-level speeches by Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, and Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Senegal Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation.

Joint Commitment to Collaborative and Inclusive Preparatory Process

The leaders emphasized the joint commitment by the UAE and Senegal in convening a collaborative and inclusive preparatory process to drive an impact-oriented Conference in 2026.

Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa stated, “For the UAE, water shapes our history, our present, and our future, fostering deep resilience, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. We are committed to accelerating innovative and inclusive global water action, through expanded knowledge sharing and international cooperation, harnessing the power of increased investment, and scaling technological solutions for the benefit of all.”

A Pivotal Moment for Humanity: Turning Commitments into Actions

Cheikh Tidiane Dieye highlighted the significance of the 2026 UN Water Conference, saying, “The 2026 UN Water Conference embodies a pivotal moment for humanity, a meeting with our collective future, and a historic opportunity to turn our commitments into concrete actions for water and sanitation. The time is no longer for reflection or recommendations, but for action. We must therefore ensure that this process is inclusive and participatory so that every voice and every perspective are taken into account.”

Call for Global Stakeholder Participation

The UAE and Senegal invited all stakeholders across the international community—including governments, international organizations, financing and investment actors, NGOs, civil society, academics, local communities, youth, and Indigenous Peoples—to raise their collective ambition to accelerate global water action together.

Despite progress, current statistics reveal that 2.2 billion people still lack clean drinking water, 3.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services and 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month per year, reported The ANINews.

A Collaborative Effort for a Water-Secure Future

The 2026 UN Water Conference aims to bring the world together to enable collective progress on water for all.

As Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa emphasized, “No nation is immune to the way that water stress can exacerbate food security, public health, and economic and political stability. Ultimately, water is the key enabler to achieving the entire 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, and SDG