On March 3, 2025, the UAE and Senegal hosted the Organizational Session at the UN Headquarters in New York, officially launching preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference. As required by the resolution on the procedures of the 2024 Conference, this session gave Member States and interested parties the opportunity to suggest topics for six interactive discussions that would further Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) on water and sanitation.
H.E. Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, and H.E. Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Senegal’s Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, reaffirmed their commitment to promoting an inclusive and action-oriented conference. They emphasised the importance of global cooperation in addressing water scarcity, sanitation, and sustainability issues.
With 2.2 billion people without access to clean water and 3.5 billion without proper sanitation, Balalaa and Dieye urged everyone to work together to advance global water action.
The session was attended by important UN officials, NGOs, and members from the corporate sector. UN DESA plans to finalise potential themes by July 2025, followed by a high-level preparatory meeting in Dakar before the December 2026 conference.
