15 October, 2024, Cairo. The 5th Annual Conference on Water Finance and Investment, co-organised by the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Union, and the African Development Bank, took place on October 14 and 15 in the Egyptian capital within the framework of the 9^th Africa Water Week.

Attracting some 100 policymakers and private and public stakeholders, the event served as a platform to discuss Euro-Mediterranean and African water finance and investment policies, particularly those relating to crucial water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. While central to public health and sustainable development, 20 million people still do not have reliable access to drinking water in the Mediterranean region, which is home to 60% of the world’s water-poor population. As a climate change hotspot, it risks even greater water insecurity in the future if decisive action is not taken now to mitigate and adapt to this alarming phenomenon.

UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel, the Head of Delegation of the EU Commission in Egypt, Christian Berger, Egyptian Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt Hani Sewilam, and the African Development Bank’s Egypt Country Manager, Abdourahmane Diaw, addressed attendees at an event that was followed by panels on critical WASH issues ranging from tariffs and affordability concerns to the mobilisation of public resources or expanding private-sector engagement.

UfM Deputy Secretary General Almotaz Abadi highlighted the Annual Conference on Water Finance and Investments’ centrality to advancing the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Water’s objectives. “This platform brings together policymakers and stakeholders to collaboratively shape the future,” he said.

“Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and its impacts are felt most acutely in the Mediterranean region and Africa,” Egyptian Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt Hani Sewilam declared.

A policy brief reflecting the conference’s conclusions and recommendations will be prepared and published in the coming weeks. These will contribute to the development of UfM Recommendations on Water Finance that will be submitted for endorsement at the next UfM Ministerial Meeting on Water.