Joint Press Release

The Permanent Missions of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Tunisia to the United Nations in New York organized a meeting on May 27, 2022, in coordination with the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), on “Key messages for the Arab region in the process of preparing the United Nations Water Conference 2023”.

The meeting witnessed a high-level participation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Water Conference and the water envoys of the Netherlands and Tajikistan (coordinators of the UN Water Track), in addition to the Executive Director of ESCWA, Dr. Rola Dashti, ambassadors and Representatives of Arab countries to the United Nations.

The participants discussed the vision, priorities and aspirations of the Arab countries towards the United Nations Water Conference 2023. ESCWA reviewed the current preparation process at the level of Arab capitals through a series of activities and sectoral meetings that were organized in Beirut on the 18th and 19th of this month, within the framework of the “Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Mid-Term Comprehensive Review of the International Decade of Action for Water”, in which the regional inputs of the region presented and submitted to the international preparation process for the 2023 Conference.

It should be noted that international reports and research classify the Arab region as the most water-scarce region in the world, as 90% of its population suffers from water scarcity, and 50 million people in this region lack access to clean and safe drinking water. The region is also facing the challenges of drought, desertification, sand and dust storms, in addition to climate change. In addition, most of the region’s water resources come from outside its borders, which increases the importance of effective transboundary cooperation.

The first United Nations conference on water since 1977 is scheduled for March 2023, and the conference is of great importance in light of the increasing challenges facing water resources, the source of life on the planet.