United Nations Water Conference: The Ministry of Water Resources mobilizes stakeholders to build Senegal's voice

In preparation for the United Nations Water Conference, scheduled for December 8-10 in Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation organized a national workshop on Wednesday to plan the participation of Senegalese stakeholders in this global event. The objective is to consolidate, through a national approach, the vision, priorities, messages, contributions, commitments, and partners that Senegal intends to bring to this water conference, while also defining the strategic directions, content, and program of the Senegal pavilion. The aim is to build Senegal's voice, the voice that will carry, in Abu Dhabi, the country's aspirations, Africa's priorities, and a renewed ambition for global water governance and the future of the planet.

A major opportunity to increase its visibility, make an ambitious case and mobilize international partners

The 2026 United Nations Water Conference comes at a time of urgent need to accelerate progress towards SDG 6. Despite the progress made since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world still lags considerably behind in achieving the goal of universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. Pressures from population growth, urbanization, climate change, ecosystem degradation, increasing economic needs, and competition for water resources make accelerated collective action essential.

In this context, Senegal, as co-host with the United Arab Emirates, intends to make its participation in the 2026 United Nations Water Conference a major opportunity to raise its profile, make an ambitious advocacy effort, and mobilize international partners. This participation should allow it to defend its national priorities, promote the aspirations of the African continent, and foster the emergence of concrete solutions and structuring partnerships.

The need to move from institutional preparation to national mobilization

According to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senegal's contribution must be built. "Speaking with one voice requires synchronization in both tone and content. Combined energies, converging views, and decisive resources must be used to build Senegal's contribution," emphasized Dr. Cheikh Tidiane Dièye.

He adds: “Today, we must move from institutional preparation to national mobilization. We are called upon to build a common narrative, to harmonize our messages, to identify the initiatives that Senegal will present to the world, to prepare the commitments we wish to make, and to make the Senegal pavilion a true space for influence, dialogue, and the mobilization of international partnerships.”

The minister maintains that Abu Dhabi's success will depend not only on the quality of their official interventions, but above all on their collective ability to mobilize Senegal's vital forces, including government agencies, local authorities, the private sector, researchers, youth, women, and our development partners. "Each of us holds part of the answer, and it is precisely this collective intelligence that we must transform today into messages and a national roadmap," he stated.

It is worth recalling that the international preparatory process reached a major milestone with the holding of the high-level preparatory meeting in Dakar on January 26 and 27, 2026. This meeting, co-organized by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with the United Nations and their partners, helped define the political and collective ambition of the conference, while also engaging various stakeholders in the six interactive dialogues.