The UAE and Senegal conclude a high-level meeting with the adoption of a joint road map in preparation for the holding of the United Nations Water Conference 2026 in Abu Dhabi.

DAKAR, 30 JANUARY / WAM / The UAE and the Republic of Senegal, as co-hosting countries of the United Nations Water Conference 2026, today concluded the work of the high-level preparatory meeting held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. This is at a pivotal stage within the ongoing preparations for the conference scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2026.

The meeting, which lasted over two days, witnessed the attendance of more than 1,600 participants from more than 120 countries, which contributed to mobilizing government agencies and partners, with the aim of accelerating the technical preparations for the conference and strengthening international efforts to agree on the main global priorities regarding water.

The meeting program included holding six preliminary dialogue sessions. A session was devoted to each of the six interactive dialogue sessions of the conference, which were unanimously adopted during the United Nations General Assembly meeting last July.

Each round session opened with high-level interventions from countries recently appointed as co-chairs, followed by contributions from the United Nations system, and interventions from government ministers and representatives, partners from international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, multilateral development banks, civil society organizations, the youth sector, and indigenous peoples.

The participation of stakeholders was also strengthened through an ad hoc multilateral meeting held on January 25, organized by the UAE in partnership with the Republic of Senegal, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in cooperation with the African Civil Society Network for Water and Sanitation, and the German Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Network.

At this meeting, the partners of various categories provided interventions that contributed to enriching the preparatory process and formulating the essential contents of the interactive dialogue themes.

The event also included the holding of more than 20 events organized by partners on the sidelines of the meeting, which addressed key priority issues, which include financing, data preservation, capacity building, and making progress in achieving the sixth goal of the sustainable development goals.

The UAE delegation participating in the preparatory meeting in Dakar was headed by His Excellency Abdullah Al-Alaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability Affairs, along with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mohammed bin Zayed Water Initiative, the Office of International Affairs, the Clean Rivers Initiative, the International Center for Climate Finance, the Salama Bint Hamdan Foundation, Khalifa University, and the Emirates Water and Electricity Company.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a series of bilateral meetings were held with senior government officials, United Nations officials, and senior leadership in international organizations.

At the conclusion of the meeting, His Excellency Al-Alaa and His Excellency Sheikh Tidjan Diy, Minister of Water and Sanitation of the Republic of Senegal, participated in two sessions in the presence of the participants and the rapporteur, during which all interventions were put into a comprehensive document summarizing the work of the meeting, entitled: “The Roadmap from Dakar to Abu Dhabi.”

In his closing speech, His Excellency Al-Alaa urged everyone to take effective measures, and called on the international community to work to develop a global framework on water, which countries can use to coordinate international efforts in their efforts to accelerate progress in achieving water-related goals. His Excellency also called for holding conferences and meetings on water at the United Nations on a regular basis, and for strengthening coordination mechanisms and establishing partnerships and cooperation, in a way that contributes to opening the way for means of implementation and accelerating work to achieve the sixth goal of the sustainable development goals.

It is expected that the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, which will be held in Abu Dhabi, will constitute a pivotal global milestone in consolidating political will, expanding the scope of investment, innovation and capacity building, accelerating the pace of implementation of work to achieve the sixth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, and consolidating the position of water as a major catalyst for achieving the United Nations agenda for 2023 and all priority global goals.

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