Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Dear colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to join you today at this inaugural "Water on 44th" dialogue, ¡°Turning the Tide for SDG6 and Beyond¡±.
Allow me to thank the Permanent Mission of Egypt for organizing this important initiative and for its continued leadership on global water issues.
I also wish to acknowledge the close collaboration of all partners supporting this event as we prepare for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.
With only four years remaining until 2030, the world is still significantly off track on achieving SDG 6.
Billions of people lack safely managed drinking water and sanitation.
Climate change is accelerating floods, droughts and glacier loss.
Freshwater ecosystems continue to decline.
At the same time, water is becoming increasingly central to food security, energy security, public health, biodiversity, economic resilience and peace and stability.
Water is not simply another sector.
It is one of the strongest connectors across the entire 2030 Agenda.
The 2023 UN Water Conference generated unprecedented political momentum through the Water Action Agenda and hundreds of voluntary commitments.
Since then, cooperation and engagement have strengthened across governments, the UN system, international organizations, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.
Our collective responsibility now is to transform this momentum into measurable implementation.
The 2026 UN Water Conference represents the next major milestone in this journey.
Co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, the 2026 Conference will focus on accelerating implementation of SDG 6 through practical, scalable and action-oriented solutions.
The six Interactive Dialogues are designed to address critical dimensions¡ªfrom people and prosperity to the planet, cooperation, multilateral processes, and investment.
To succeed, we must overcome one of the greatest challenges before us: fragmentation.
Water is discussed across climate negotiations, biodiversity processes, disaster risk reduction, health, food systems and development cooperation.
Equally important is investment.
Water should never be viewed merely as a cost.
It is an investment in resilience, prosperity, public health and sustainable development.
Mobilizing greater public and private investment, strengthening institutions and expanding both innovation and capacity development will be essential.
Today's event highlights the critical importance of leadership in this process.
Egypt's role as Co-Chair of the Interactive Dialogue on "Water for Planet", alongside Japan, demonstrates the exact type of international partnership needed to make the 2026 Conference a success.
Excellencies,
Turning the tide for SDG 6 requires more than ambition.
It requires political leadership, cooperation, and investment.
Above all, it requires implementation.
Let us use today's dialogue to strengthen our partnerships and build momentum toward a successful 2026 UN Water Conference.
Thank you.