Chaired by Baroness Chapman, the UK’s Minister of State for International Development, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the roundtable brought together key stakeholders from around the world
Abdulla Balalaa, the UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainable Affairs, participated in a pivotal ministerial roundtable in London, convened by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The roundtable, focused on “Tackling Water Security across the Climate-Nature-Development Nexus,” emphasized the urgent need for global action and sustained leadership in addressing the growing global water crisis.
Chaired by Baroness Chapman, the UK’s Minister of State for International Development, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the roundtable brought together key stakeholders from around the world. Ministers from Senegal, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Nepal, and Bangladesh, as well as senior leaders from multilateral institutions such as the European Commission, the World Bank, UNICEF, UN Water, WaterAid, and the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, gathered to discuss collaboration opportunities and the need for a systemic shift in how water is addressed across climate, nature, and development policies.
During the session, Balalaa stressed the UAE’s preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference, scheduled to focus on accelerating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. “SDG 6 is the catalyst and enabler of all Sustainable Development Goals, and all our global societal, environmental, and economic goals,” Balalaa stated, underlining the UAE’s commitment to addressing the critical importance of water security at the international level.
Participants in the roundtable agreed to seize key moments over the coming year to sustain leadership on water, sanitation, and hygiene, ensuring that these issues are integrated into the broader agenda for achieving all SDGs. The group also committed to fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships to create scalable, innovative, and inclusive solutions to the global water crisis and to collaborate with existing UN processes to strengthen the role of water in the international agenda.
In addition to the roundtable, Balalaa attended a reception ceremony hosted at Buckingham Palace by His Majesty King Charles III. The event, titled ‘Water and Climate,’ was held in collaboration with WaterAid and further underscored the critical intersection of water security and climate change.
The roundtable came after the Organizational Session of the 2026 UN Water Conference, which took place on March 3 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Over 70 participants, including member states and stakeholders, shared their recommendations for the themes of the six interactive dialogues at the Conference. These themes will be finalized during a preparatory meeting convened by the President of the General Assembly on July 9, 2025.
The discussions in London and New York highlight the growing international recognition of the need for immediate and collective action to tackle the global water crisis and its connection to broader issues of climate change, sustainability, and development. As the world faces increasing water scarcity, the focus on collaborative and innovative solutions is more critical than ever.
