From 7-9 February 2023 the 9th Roundtable on financing water was held in a hybrid format in Geneva, Switzerland. The event was organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in conjunction with the UN-Water mechanism and aimed at developing and identifying new commitments for financing the water sector, as a contribution to the Water Action Agenda on the way to the UN 2023 Water Conference.
Mr. Csaba Korosi – President of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo – Chair of UN-Water and Director-General of ILO, Ms. Usha Monari- Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP, Kitty van der Heijden, Vice Minister of International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda – Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Water and Climate Coalition Leaders, Mr. Henk Ovink – Special Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for International Water Affairs, Mr. Loic Fauchon – WWC President and other representatives of international financial institutions, the private sector and business communities focused on finding new ideas and solutions.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda provided comprehensive information on the preparations for the UN 2023 Water Conference and noted the importance of this historic Conference for the world community. In this context, he also stressed the importance of funding as a key factor in turning commitments into action.
Mr. Rahimzoda noted that throughout the preparatory process, the Co-Chairs of the Conference, Tajikistan, and the Netherlands, called on UN Member States, international organizations, financial institutions, and other stakeholders for bold transformative, and innovative actions and commitments that can make a difference for all levels and encouraged the Round Table participants to also initiate such commitments as a result of the discussions.
Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda and Mr. Henk Ovink also spoke at the closing ceremony of the Roundtable, urging everyone to actively participate in the Conference in New York and put forward new commitments to increase funding for the water sector. They stressed that this Conference is a good opportunity to accelerate action to achieve SDG6 and other water goals and targets. The world community needs to join forces to use this opportunity properly to make the Conference historic not only in terms of time but also in terms of results and impact on further steps.
The Water Finance Roundtable is a global public-private platform aimed at promoting increased financing and investment that contributes to water security and sustainable growth. This platform was created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in cooperation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the World Water Council, and the World Bank.
