Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom has contributed USD6 billion in supporting 200 water-related projects in over 60 developing countries around the world.
He spoke at the One Water Summit in Riyadh that was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and several ministers and officials.
The summit is jointly chaired by Saudi Arabia, France and Kazakhstan, and president of the World Bank. It underscores Saudi Arabia’s pioneering international role in confronting water challenges across the world and its commitment to sustainable environment issues.
The Kingdom has for decades demonstrated its pioneering role in producing, transporting and distributing water and coming up with innovative solutions to address challenges related to it.
Crown Prince Mohammed noted that the world is facing growing water problems given the rise in drought levels. Water scarcity will lead to several crises, such as desertification, which may threaten human life and societies.
He therefore stressed the need for joint work to set plans to ensure sustainable sources of water.
The Kingdom is preparing to host the 11th round of the World Water Forum in 2027 in cooperation with the World Water Council, he remarked. The council has already set up its global headquarters in Riyadh with the aim to develop and integrate international efforts to tackle challenges in a more comprehensive way.
Moreover, Crown Prince Mohammed noted that the One Water Summit is being held while Saudi Arabia is hosting the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The One Water Summit aims to contribute to the ongoing United Nations discussions and process to boost global water governance, accelerate action on SDG6 on water and sanitation, building on the momentum of the UN Water Conference in 2023. It also aims to act as an incubator for solutions, in preparation for the next UN Water Conference in 2026.
The One Water Summit’s ambition is to scale-up projects by stimulating partnerships between states, international organizations, local authorities, development and private banks, businesses, philanthropies, scientific experts, NGOs and civil society, in line with previous One Planet Summits.
