Amna Al-Dahhak: Innovation and sustainable finance are two pillars of global water security
Dubai, March 21 / WAM / Her Excellency Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al-Dahhak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, confirmed that technological innovation, providing sustainable financing, and building effective partnerships are the most important strategic tools for ensuring global water security, and transforming the challenges of the water sector into real opportunities for growth and alleviating human suffering.
On the occasion of World Water Day, Her Excellency explained that this approach embodies the UAE’s commitment, with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him,” to lead an effective global movement to consolidate the sustainability of water resources and enable people to obtain their inherent right to clean water on an ongoing basis.
Her Excellency said: “This year’s World Water Day slogan (Where water flows, equality grows) highlights a reality that we cannot ignore. Recent international figures and reports indicate that 2.1 billion people globally are deprived of clean drinking water near their homes, and that women and girls in many countries spend about 250 million hours a day collecting and transporting water, which is wasted time that depletes their opportunities for education, work, and participation in building their societies. There are also more than a billion women who lack services.” Safe water, and 380 million women living in areas suffering from severe water stress.”
She added: “In the UAE, we view these numbers as an urgent call for serious action. We believe that the real solution to alleviate this suffering from the most affected communities and groups can only be achieved through technological innovation and the provision of sustainable financing. Providing clean water through modern techniques for extracting groundwater, desalination, or purifying natural sources is the way to give everyone equal opportunities in life and growth.”
Her Excellency Al Dahak pointed out that the UAE has taken it upon itself to lead international efforts to confront water scarcity at the local and global levels, which is clearly embodied in the “Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative,” which places the UAE at the forefront of international efforts aimed at enhancing cooperation and developing sustainable water technologies that serve humanity.
Her Excellency said: “The initiative that was launched to address the problem of global water scarcity reflects our firm commitment to transforming challenges into tangible solutions. This commitment was translated into allocating $150 million to solve the problem of water scarcity, which was evident in the launch of the (XPRIZE to Reduce Water Scarcity) competition with prizes amounting to $119 million, to develop effective solutions to enhance the efficiency of seawater desalination techniques and reduce their cost.”
She added: “Our efforts did not stop at the borders of technological innovation, but rather extended to include vital environmental initiatives on the ground, as the UAE is leading global efforts through the Clean Rivers Initiative to address the challenges of water pollution and waste. This initiative works effectively in several countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, to enhance the resilience of local communities and ensure the sustainability of rivers and natural water sources as a basic lifeline, which translates our true commitment to creating a positive and tangible impact that alleviates the suffering of peoples.”
On the local level, Her Excellency Al Dahhak confirmed that the UAE provides a pioneering model in the integrated management of water resources through the “UAE Water Security Strategy 2036”, which aims to reduce the total demand for water resources by 21%, and increase the rate of reuse of treated water to 95%, in addition to focusing on rationalizing water consumption and developing natural resources.
She added: “We are adopting the latest environmentally friendly technological solutions to ensure the sustainability of water supplies, foremost of which is expanding the use of sustainable reverse osmosis technologies in water desalination plants, which contributes to reducing carbon emissions and enhancing production efficiency to meet the growing demand and support the comprehensive development process in the country.”
Her Excellency the Minister stressed that sustainable water management cannot be separated from the agriculture and energy sectors, explaining that rationalizing water consumption in agriculture is a national and global priority.
She said: “We have realized the fundamental interconnection between energy, water and food, and we always call for adopting an integrated framework in which energy and water security directly contributes to enhancing global water and food security in addition to the sustainability of natural systems and stopping their degradation for the benefit of living organisms.”
Her Excellency touched on the UAE’s pivotal role in mobilizing international efforts, which was recently crystallized in the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s launch of the “Athar Sustainability Forum” during the World Government Summit 2026 under the slogan “Partnerships for Sustainable Water.”
She added: “This slogan reflects the collective commitment and consolidates the UAE’s approach to transforming water challenges into strategic opportunities for cooperation. We emphasized during the forum that cooperation between governments, the private sector and civil society organizations is a major necessity to provide just, equitable and sustainable solutions in the water sector.”
At the conclusion of her statement, Her Excellency Dr. Amna Al Dahak said: “Today we stand on the cusp of a decisive stage, as the UAE, in cooperation with the Republic of Senegal, will host the United Nations Water Conference 2026 next December. This conference will represent a decisive global platform for moving from pledges to actual implementation, accelerating global efforts to ensure everyone’s access to safe water, and directing investments towards infrastructure projects and major environmental initiatives such as protecting ecosystems and clean rivers. Our message to the world is clear: water is not just a challenge, it is power. driving peace and sustaining life on our planet.
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