On 12 November 2022 within the framework of the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Arab Republic of Egypt a session was held on the topic: “From COP27 to the UN 2023 Water Conference: Acceleration of action on water and adaptation”, which was organized by the Republic of Tajikistan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
At the opening of the session, Ms. Liesje Schreinemacher – Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and Mr. Jamshed Shoimzoda – First Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan addressed the participants with welcoming words.
The session was focused on the discussion of the issue of accelerating action on water and adaptation, corresponding to the third theme of the Interactive Dialogues of the UN 2023 Water Conference – “Water for climate, resilience and the environment”.
The event included two-panel sessions that provided a good platform for Member States and other stakeholders to discuss and develop transformative commitments that could change the global trajectory for world water security. These transformational commitments will be included in the Water Agenda for Action of the UN 2023 Water Conference.
It is important to recall that the Water Agenda for Action of the UN 2023 Water Conference was initiated within the framework of the Second Dushanbe Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, which was successfully held on 6-9 June 2022 in Dushanbe. This initiative includes voluntary commitments to accelerate action toward the achievement of internationally agreed water goals and targets.
Mr. Jamshed Shoimzoda, in his speech, noted the importance of the global water initiatives of the Republic of Tajikistan, including the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, in order to achieve the internationally agreed goals and objectives on water, including those in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He also called on all stakeholders to join the efforts of Tajikistan and the Netherlands in this historic mission to make the UN 2023 Water Conference successful and productive.
The UN 2023 Water Conference will be held next March in New York, co-chaired by the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This will be the second UN 2023 Water Conference in history, since the first Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1977.